Sticking to its end of the year in service deadline, Duke Energy Gas Transmission (DEGT) said it has successfully installed, inspected and tested 1,666 feet of Patriot Extension natural gas pipeline under the New River in Wythe County, VA, and is continuing construction on a 53-mile section of the pipeline moving east from the river.

The company said the 24-inch diameter pipeline section under the river has been pressure-tested and internally inspected, testing the integrity of the pipeline following installation. DEGT said the entire 95-mile length of the Patriot Extension pipeline again will be tested prior to being placed into service later this year.

As part of Duke Energy’s interstate natural gas pipeline development called the Patriot Project, the Patriot Extension begins at the company’s East Tennessee Natural Gas (ETNG) system in Wythe County, traverses parts of five counties in southwest Virginia and terminates in Rockingham County, NC.

The company also noted that work continues on certain horizontal directional drills on Segments 3 and 4, which represents the final 42 miles of the extension east of the New River.

In addition to the Patriot Extension, the company is concurrently expanding its existing ETNG system in Tennessee and Virginia. DEGT said about 30 miles of pipeline have been installed in Sullivan County, TN, and Washington County, VA, and crews are working on 22 miles of pipeline in Smyth and Wythe County, VA. Together, the extension and expansion work is known as the Patriot Project.

The Patriot Project is on schedule to begin service in November, said Rick Smith, Patriot project director, adding that the first phase of the project will transport 310 MMcf/d of natural gas to customers who have committed to long-term contracts for transportation service beginning this winter’s heating season.

In April, ETNG started laying pipe for its 510,000 Dth/d Patriot Extension into North Carolina (see Daily GPI, April 23). The $298 million extension-expansion is projected to boost East Tennessee’s existing design capacity of 700,000 Dth/d to more than 1.2 Bcf/d.

The ETNG line is a 1,129-mile pipeline system that begins in central Tennessee, converges near Knoxville and extends to a point near Roanoke, Va. The system provides natural gas transportation and storage services to about 40 LDCs and 17 industries in the region.

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