The record rainfall in various parts of the nation this year apparently is playing havoc with some pipeline construction schedules. Southern Natural Gas Co., for one, has asked, and received, from FERC two extensions to complete construction and place into service phase one of its South System Expansion II project in the Southeast.

The pipeline expansion initially was due to be completed on June 1, but FERC approved a request to push back the deadline until July 1. Southern then sought a second postponement to Sept. 1 of this year, citing the “record rainfalls and flooding damage that occurred in May” in the Southeast region. The Commission last week granted the two-month extension [CP02-1-003].

Phase one of the project calls for the construction of about 48 miles of pipeline looping and new compression to provide additional firm transportation capacity of 93,895 Mcf/d to several customers, including Calpine Energy Services, Effingham County Power LLC, City of Austell in Georgia, Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Proctor & Gamble Paper Products and Kimberly-Clark Corp.

The entire South System Expansion II project, which will be built in three phases, will entail 114 miles of pipeline loop and 64,660 horsepower of compression in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

Southern contends the phase-one delay “should have no impact on any of [the pipeline’s] other customers or the other two phases” of the expansion project, according to the FERC staff order.

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