El Paso Energy’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline and CNG’s CNG Transmission announced an open season for their joint venture, the Atlantic Alliance Project, which started last week and will extend to Thursday, Sept. 30. Shippers will be asked to submit binding precedent agreements for service commencing November 2001 as part of the open season.

The Atlantic Alliance project, which was unveiled in late July (See NGI, July 26) will transport up to 750,000 dth/d from Chicago and the Niagara Import Point to developing markets in the Northeast. It will include access to Transco and the proposed MarketLink Project at Leidy, PA, and to Columbia and the proposed Millennium Project at Horseheads and Greenwood, NY.

If approved, the project will target developing markets in New York, Pennsylvania, and New England. Capacity will be phased in as needed on Tennessee’s and CNG’s existing systems by adding limited facilities along existing rights-of-way. This approach results in lower costs and less environmental impact than building new pipe in new right-of-way.

The rate from Chicago to western New York or Pennsylvania will be about 47 cents/Dth. Because it will use existing facilities, Atlantic Alliance will be able to offer service quickly, with 100,000 Dth/d available this winter.

Atlantic Alliance’s competitors in part are greenfield projects Independence (ANR Pipeline, National Fuel Gas Supply and Transco), and Millennium (Columbia Gas Transmission, TransCanada PipeLines, Westcoast Energy and MCN Energy Group), and the Spectrum program (Texas Eastern Transmission, a Duke Energy affiliate), which would make use of existing capacity.

Interested shippers are encouraged to contact their account manager or Mike Stokdyk at Tennessee at (713) 420-3434 or Cindy Currey at CNG at (304) 623-8231 for additional information. John Norris

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