Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) said Wednesday that subsidiary Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) plans to move forward with an expansion of its A/G Line after receiving contract commitments from Barnett Shale gas producers interested in greater market access.

The $16 million expansion of a portion of its Amarillo to Gulf Coast line would provide an additional 139,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity through the installation of 9,500 horsepower of compression at a site in Morris County, TX.

The portion of the A/G line being expanded is downstream of Compressor Station 802 in Lamar County, TX, and extends 95 miles east, terminating at the Gulf Coast mainline. Current capacity on this segment is 662,000 Dth/d.

“The incremental capacity made available by this expansion will provide producers in the growing Barnett Shale supply basin with greater access to attractive markets via the NGPL system,” said Scott Parker, president of KMI’s natural gas pipelines group. Parker added that capacity on the A/G line is currently sold out.

The 800-mile A/G line connects NGPL’s Amarillo and Gulf Coast lines and offers flexibility for producers in the Texas Panhandle and southern Oklahoma. Subject to expedited regulatory approvals, it is anticipated that the project will be available for service on or about Oct. 31, 2006.

The expansion is among several other new pipeline projects that would support production growth in East and North Texas. CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission (CEGT), for example, recently completed a deal to transport 600 MMcf/d of East and North Texas gas production for XTO Energy for 10 years on a new 168-mile pipeline between the Carthage Hub in East Texas and the Perryville Hub in northeastern Louisiana. CenterPoint said the $375 million pipeline will have an initial design capacity of 1 Bcf/d and could be in service as early as the winter of 2006-2007.

El Paso Corp.’s Continental Connector project would provide transportation for Barnett Shale producers downstream of Perryville to markets in the Northeast, Great Lakes and other regions (see Daily GPI, Dec. 1, Oct. 26, Oct. 18).

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