Discovery Gas Transmission LLC has filed an application with FERC for an expansion that would include four new delivery points, increasing its delivery capability into the southern Louisiana pipeline grid by 150,000 Dth/d.

The four additional delivery points in the Discovery Market Expansion Project are proposed interconnections with Columbia Gulf Transmission Co., Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp.

In April, Discovery Gas Transmission, a 150-mile pipeline operated by Williams’ Discovery system, held an open season for shippers interested in additional market outlet connections near the Larose processing plant in southeastern Louisiana (see NGI, April 14). Currently, the system consists of Discovery Gas Transmission’s 30-inch, 150-mile pipeline located onshore and offshore Louisiana, and Discovery Producer Services LLC (DPS), which owns related facilities including a 600 MMcf/d cryogenic gas plant, a 42,000 bbl/d fractionator, 80 miles of primarily deepwater gas gathering lines and deepwater production handling facilities.

Discovery proposes to acquire from DPH, Inc. 31 miles of existing, but currently unused, 20-inch pipeline in LaFourche and Terrebone Parishes, and from DPS approximately 0.43 miles of 16-inch pipeline in LaFourche Parish. In addition, Discovery also proposes to lease 100,000 Dth/d of capacity on 35 miles of Texas Eastern’s system from Discovery’s existing interconnect to the proposed interconnection with Transco.

In conjunction with the expansion, Discovery proposes to construct the following facilities:

Discovery’s April open season resulted in binding precedent agreements for 112,000 Dth/d of firm service completed or currently under negotiation. The company further asserted that it also expects to ship gas on the new project on an interruptible basis for these and other shippers.

Under the filing, Discovery proposed a maximum usage fee for Rate Schedule FT-2 (Market Expansion) service of 7.40 cents per Dth, based on firm service billing determinants of 150,000 Dth/d and not based on any allocation of costs to interruptible service. Discovery stated, that it also “seeks approval of 14.80 cents per Dth as its maximum Rate Schedule IT (Market Expansion) rate and that this rate is based on a 50% load factor derivation of Discovery’s Rate Schedule FT-2 rate.” Because of its usage fee-only design of its Rate Schedule FT-2 rate, Discovery said there is no capacity being released on its system, and Discovery is totally at risk for the recovery of the cost of its Market Expansion facilities.

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