The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday issued a series of rulings that would pave the way for new pipeline and expansion projects proposed by Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG), Southern Natural Gas (Sonat), East Tennessee Natural Gas, Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) and Petal Gas Storage LLC.

CIG won a certificate to expand its 300-mile-plus Valley Line system in Weld and El Paso Counties in Colorado by adding a new compressor and associated facilities. The expanded facilities will allow the pipeline to transport an additional 92,150 Dth/d of natural gas to serve growing power generation demand and other incremental natural gas needs, according to the order [CP03-7].

CIG said it entered into contracts with four customers for 42,150 Dth/d of the proposed capacity on a year-round basis: Colorado Springs Utilities, Aquila Inc., CF&I Steel LP and Holcim (US) Inc. The remaining capacity will be used to meet the existing contractual demand levels of CIG’s current customers during the summer. CIG estimated the cost of adding the capacity at $22.98 million.

The Commission approved an amended certificate that would allow Sonat to construct its South System II expansion project in three phases, instead of the originally proposed two phases, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia [CP02-1]. The pipeline requested the change to accommodate one of its expansion shippers, Southern Company Services Inc. (SCS), which had asked for service to be deferred to Nov. 1 of this year from June 1.

The proposed expansion would include a 114-mile pipeline loop and 64,660 horsepower of new compression facilities, and will provide 329,891 Mcf/d of firm service for eight shippers. An estimated 97,950 Mcf/d of the capacity would be earmarked for SCS.

The phased project calls for Sonat to complete facilities to provide 93,895 Mcf/d of firm service to five customers by June 1 of this year, the SCS facilities by Nov. 1 of this year and facilities to deliver 138,046 Mcf/d of gas to two customers by May 1, 2004.

Tetco on Thursday got the green light to carry out a compression and looping expansion of its system in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi to provide an additional 197,147 Dth/d of capacity to power generators [CP02-381]. The pipeline plans a three-part construction schedule, with segments to be completed in November 2003, April 2004 and November 2004.

The so-called M-1 expansion project, which will cost an estimated $66.12 million, consists of 32 miles of 36-inch diameter pipe, looping three sections of Tetco’s existing mainline. It also will include a compression upgrade totaling 28,000 hp.

Separately, FERC gave Petal Gas Storage LLC the go-ahead to install a 5,000-hp compressor at its existing facility in Forrest County, MS, which will expand working gas capacity by 8 Bcf and will add 800 MMcf/d of withdrawal capacity [CP02-387]. Petal also got clearance to sell storage services at market-based rates.

Lastly, the Commission denied a landowner group’s request to stay construction of East Tennessee’s Patriot pipeline project in Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Coalition and the National Committee for the New River Inc. separately sought rehearing of a November order issuing a certificate for the proposed pipeline. The Committee also had requested a stay [CP02-387].

“The Patriot Project has been found to be in the public interest and to be environmentally acceptable if constructed in accordance with the mitigation measures on which the Commission’s approval is conditioned. East Tennessee, moreover, cannot commence construction of the facilities until it receives all necessary federal permits, including federal permits issued by the state… The request for stay will be denied.”

The $298 million extension-expansion project, which has been the target of considerable landowner opposition, is expected to boost East Tennessee’s existing design capacity of 700,000 Dth/d to more than 1.2 Bcf/d. The pipeline has proposed adding the capacity in three phases. East Tennessee has estimated that 87% of the proposed capacity has been subscribed. The project, which would supply the gas needs of power generators in the region, includes an expansion of East Tennessee’s existing mainline system in Tennessee and southwestern Virginia, and an extension running from central Virginia to an interconnection with Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s mainline in Rockingham, NC.

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