FERC on Wednesday approved Northwest Pipeline Corp.’s proposal to build a lateral in Colorado to transport natural gas for affiliate Williams Power Co. Inc., a power and gas marketer.

The project calls for Northwest to construct 37.6 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline and associated facilities extending from Williams Production RMT Co. Inc.’s planned Parachute processing Plant 3 in Garfield County, CO, to delivery point interconnects with two El Paso-affiliated pipelines, Colorado Interstate Gas Co. and Wyoming Interstate Co. Ltd., at the Greasewood Hub in Rio Blanco County, CO, where a number of gas pipelines converge [CP06-45].

The proposed Parachute Lateral would have the capacity to transport 450,000 Dth/d from the Piceance Basin. Northwest estimates it will cost about $57.8 million to build the lateral and associated facilities, and anticipates an in-service date of Jan. 1, 2007.

Last December, Williams Power executed a precedent agreement for the entire 450,000 Dth/d of firm transportation service capacity on the proposed lateral for a term of 15 years.

In approving the project, the FERC order said, “The Parachute Lateral Project will provide up to 450,000 Dth/d of additional natural gas transportation capacity in a capacity-constrained Piceance Basin production area without degrading any existing customer’s services. Northwest’s lateral project is not designed to serve or capture any other pipeline’s customer. In addition, this project will facilitate the receipt of gas supplies from the Piceance Basin area, allowing for deliveries to the Greasewood Hub.”

Salt Lake City, UT-based Northwest Pipeline, a subsidiary of The Williams Companies, transports 3.5 Bcf/d over 4,158 miles of pipeline, serving primarily markets in the western half of the United States.

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