Entrega Gas Pipeline on Thursday asked FERC for the go-ahead to begin construction on the first segment of the proposed 328-mile line that will open the door for Rocky Mountain producers to send more natural gas to Midwest markets.

The Entrega pipeline is seeking authorization to start construction on the 36-inch diameter portion of the line that will extend from the Meeker Hub in Rio Blanco County, CO, to Wamsutter, WY [CP04-413]. The company said it plans to complete construction and place into service this section later this year. Segment 2, which would include the 42-inch diameter part of the line from Wamsutter to the Cheyenne Hub in Weld County, CO, is planned for construction in the summer of 2006, according to the EnCana Corp. affiliate.

The two segments, which would make up Phase 1 of the project, involve the construction of about 136 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline extending from the Meeker Hub through Moffat County, CO, to Wamsutter, and approximately 191 miles of 42-inch diameter pipeline from Wamsutter through Carbon, Albany and Laramie counties, WY, and Larimer County, CO, to the Cheyenne Hub. The Phase 1 facilities would have the capability to deliver 750 MMcf/d.

Phase II involves adding compression, including 15,400 horsepower at Meeker Hub Compressor Station, a 30,000 hp Bighole Compressor Station in Moffat County and a 20,620 hp Wamsutter Compressor Station in Sweetwater County, WY. The compression, expected to be completed by April 2007, would double the Entrega pipeline capacity to 1.5 Bcf/d.

The proposed pipeline will interconnect with El Paso’s Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG) and affiliate Wyoming Interstate Co. Ltd. transmission systems at Wamsutter, carrying supplies to markets east and west of Wamsutter; and it will connect with CIG, Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline, Trailblazer Pipeline and Public Service Co. of Colorado at the Cheyenne Hub, delivering gas to markets in the Midwest and Central U.S. and to the Eastern Slope south of the Cheyenne Hub.

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