Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Texas Eastern Transmission are ready to “let ‘er rip” Nov. 1, opening up more than 1.4 Bcf/d of new pipeline capacity to New York, New Jersey and New England.

FERC Friday approved Texas Eastern Transmission’s (Tetco) and Algonquin Gas Transmission’s request to place into service an expansion of their systems that can deliver 800,000 Dth/d to northeastern markets. Tetco’s expansion joins Tennessee’s 636 Dth/d Northeast Upgrade Project, which already had received approval to start operations delivering Marcellus Shale gas on Nov. 1.

Tetco’s 15.2-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline will extend from Staten Island, NY, through the cities of Bayonne and Hoboken in New Jersey and terminate at a new interconnection in lower Manhattan. The embattled project has been fending off attacks from New Jersey and environmental officials for years. It has been opposed by top officials in the state — including Gov. Chris Christie — but it has received solid support in New York (see Shale Daily, Nov. 1, 2011).

Of the 800,000 Dth/d of new capacity to be created by the expansion, 730,000 Dth/d would be sourced from receipt points on Algonquin’s system near Ramapo, NY, and Mahwah, NJ. In addition, up to 100,000 Dth/d could be sourced from a receipt point on Tetco’s system in Lambertville, NJ.

As noted by the Spectra Energy pipelines, “construction activities are not complete at the Mahwah metering and regulating station in Mahwah, NJ. Texas Eastern and Algonquin will operate the temporary facilities approved in the Commission’s Oct. 1 approval of construction variance,” enabling the pipelines to provide service to the project shippers by Nov. 1, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a letter order [CP11-56].

The pipelines sought and received variance authority to install certain temporary facilities at the Mahwah Meter Station, as well as completed certificated facilities, so they could provide the full project capacity to shippers by Nov. 1.

Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline received clearance to start up Loops 317, 321 and 325 of its project this week, as well as its Compressor Stations 321 and 325. The agency approved Tennessee’s request to place Loop 319 in service last month [CP11-161] (see Shale Daily, Sept. 26).