Calgary-based Regent Resources Ltd. on Wednesday received FERC and presidential clearances to build border-crossing facilities at the Montana-Canadian boundary in order to boost imports of natural gas into the western U.S. state.

“We believe that approval of Regent’s proposal would provide needed gas supplies into Montana, add to Canadian resource development, and benefit the public and businesses in the area,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in the order endorsing the project [CP03-8].

Regent proposes to build and operate a gas meter station at an existing well site in the Coutts area of Alberta and a 2,300-foot, four-inch diameter pipeline (Regent Pipeline), extending south from the meter station to the U.S.-Canadian border. The proposed Canadian facilities would interconnect with a four-inch diameter pipeline (Connector Pipeline) on the U.S. side to be built by Regent Resources Inc., a Montana subsidiary of Regent, in Glacier County, MT.

The Connector line would extend southeasterly for about 19,400 feet and tie in with EnCana Corp.’s existing gathering and processing system, according to the agency order.

On top of supplying more gas to Montana, FERC said it believes the project “will facilitate the growing international energy trade between the United States and Canada, in addition to furthering U.S. foreign policy goals, as well as the objectives of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the North American Free Trade Agreement.”

Regent Resources is a privately owned resource company engaged in the exploration and development, production and marketing of oil and natural gas in western Canada. Its current production level is about 1,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, split equally between gas and oil. The company reports it has an existing gas reserve base of 19 Bcf.

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