Palomar Gas Transmission LLC, a joint venture of TransCanada Corp. and Northwest Natural Gas Co., Thursday filed an application at FERC to build a natural gas transmission pipeline to move Rocky Mountain gas into markets in the Willamette Valley of northwest Oregon and the West Coast’s I-5 corridor.

If the certificate is approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the end of 2009, Palomar said it could begin construction in 2010 with a target in-service date of November 2011. Palomar would be only the second interstate gas pipeline to serve customers in Oregon’s Williamette Valley and southwestern Washington state.

The project calls for the construction of a 217-mile, 36-inch diameter pipeline that would connect TransCanada’s existing Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) pipeline in central Oregon with Northwest Pipeline’s Grants Pass Lateral and Northwest Natural’s distribution system near Molalla, OR, approximately 30 miles southeast of Portland (see Daily GPI, May 28). The project also would include a western segment to allow deliveries along Northwest Natural’s distribution system west and north of Molalla. It would have the capability to transport up to 1.3 Bcf/d, according to Palomar.

“This project would greatly enhance service reliability to [Northwest] Natural’s 650,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. The prospect of tapping additional sources of natural gas through Palomar would help mitigate the impact of future price volatility on [Northwest] Natural’s customers,” said Keith White, Northwest Natural vice president.

Palomar would provide Northwest Natural with additional access to the interstate pipeline grid via an interconnect near the town of Molalla and would also connect it with the facilities of the proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas terminal in Clatsop County, OR.

The results of an open season held in May-June are disclosed in Palomar’s application, said a Palomar spokesman. But the application has not yet been posted to the FERC website.

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