FERC last Thursday gave Southern Natural Gas, a pipeline subsidiary of El Paso Corp., the green light to begin service on the bulk of its Cypress Pipeline project, which provides a direct corridor for deliveries of natural gas from the Elba Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Georgia to the northern Florida market.

Specifically, the order grants permission for the start-up of Cypress Pipeline’s Phase I facilities, which include: 1) 166 miles of 24-inch diameter pipeline, extending from an interconnect with Southern’s existing Wrens-Savannah lines in Effingham County, GA, to an interconnect with Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) in Clay County, FL; 2) interconnection and measurement facilities with Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGL) in Glynn County, GA; Southern’s South Georgia facilities in Nassau County, FL; JEA (formerly Jacksonville Electric Authority) in Duval County, FL; and FGT in Clay County; and 3) various associated facilities, including replacement facilities, at Southern’s Marietta delivery point to AGL in Cobb County, GA.

Phase II facilities are projected to go into operation in May 2009, and would consist of a new 10,350 horsepower (hp) compressor station in Glynn County. Phase III would include nearly 10 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline loop on Southern’s Wrens-Savannah pipelines in Chatham and Effingham counties, and two new 10,350 hp compressor stations in Liberty County, GA, and Nassau County. Southern expects Phase III facilities to go into service in May 2010.

The entire Cypress Pipeline, when completed, would add 500 MMcf/d of firm transportation capacity on Southern’s existing system in Georgia and Florida via the construction of 177 miles of 24-inch and 30-inch diameter pipeline, 31,050 hp of compression and associated facilities from El Paso’s Elba Island LNG terminal to Jacksonville, FL.

Southern has entered into precedent agreements for firm transportation service for the full capacity of the project with BG LNG Services LLC (20-year term), Progress Energy Florida Inc. (20-year term), and the City of Austell, GA (15-year term), according to the El Paso pipeline.

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