FERC has rejected Gulf South Pipeline’s proposal to incorporate revised natural gas quality specifications into its tariff. The agency, however, left open the door for Gulf South to refile a “properly supported” proposal at a later date.

In January Gulf South, a subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, proposed adjustments to gas quality specifications in its tariff to ensure the reliable delivery of its customers’ natural gas into other interstate pipelines.

In justifying its request, Gulf State said that although it had not experienced gas quality concerns on its system, the trend among interconnecting interstate pipelines that deliver to colder climates was to implement stricter gas quality standards. Gulf South said it feared that this trend could result in interconnecting pipelines refusing to accept gas delivery from the Gulf South system, which extends from southern Texas to western Florida. This could cause supply disruptions and interfere with the seamless transportation of natural gas across the interstate pipeline grid, it said.

“The Commission supports the goal of a seamless interstate grid and recognizes that, when necessary, upstream pipelines should have the tariff flexibility to allow [them] to meet the gas quality standards of downstream pipelines. The Commission finds in this case, however, that Gulf South has failed to provide record evidence to demonstrate that gas on its system has been, or would be, rejected by its downstream interconnecting pipelines,” said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order, which was issued July 20 [RP07-149].

Specifically, “Gulf South has not shown that its proposal for authority to post maximum Btu limits down to 1,075 Btu is necessary to ensure that it can make deliveries to downstream pipelines,” it noted.

“Only two of its interconnects with downstream pipelines would potentially require a Btu level as low as 1,075 (Destin and Gulfstream). However, Gulf South has not presented any evidence showing that its Btu content for gas at its Destin and Gulfstream delivery points has ever exceeded Destin’s or Gulfstream’s 1,075 Btu limits or that those two pipelines have ever refused to accept gas from Gulf South,” the order said.

“In addition, Gulf South’s historical Btu deliveries to its interconnects for the past two years range between a maximum of 1,092 Btu and a minimum of 1,007 with an average Btu of 1,035. Importantly, the maximum Btu level of 1,092 is experienced at Gulf South’s interconnect with Trunkline Gas Co. LLC at Olla in a separate pooling zone…Based on this evidence, it appears that Gulf South would not have difficulty meeting a 1,075 Btu limit on a downstream interconnect, nor has Gulf South provided any specific information identifying changes to the operations of its system, including new supply sources and changes in flow pattern, which would require the proposed changes to its tariff,” it noted.

FERC further said Gulf South failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify its request for its safe harbor proposal, as well as the proposed provisions for carbon dioxide and total inert substances.

©Copyright 2007Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.