FERC staff on Friday gave Central New York Oil and Gas (CNYOG) environmental clearance to double the working gas capacity of the Stagecoach Storage facility, which is located 150 miles northwest of New York City.

“Approval of the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment,” agency staff concluded in an environmental assessment on the so-called Stagecoach Phase II Expansion Project [CP06-64].

The proposed expansion would bring the facility’s working gas capacity to 26.25 Bcf from 13.25 Bcf. Total storage capacity would rise to 30.25 Bcf. Injection capacity and deliverability would be unchanged at 250 MMcf/d and 500 MMcf/d, respectively. However, the expansion would extend the field’s capability to maintain withdrawals at maximum rates to about 20 consecutive days from the existing level of 12 days.

The project calls for the conversion of four existing natural gas production fields that are nearly depleted in Bradford County, PA, and Tioga County, NY, to storage reservoirs. In addition, the project will involve the following changes: the addition of a 12,000 horsepower electric-drive centrifugal compressor unit; the construction of 6.7 miles of six-inch and 20-inch diameter gathering pipelines and associated facilities; and the construction of a 9.3-mile, 20-inch diameter lateral to the proposed Millennium Pipeline located north of the town of Owego, NY.

Three unnamed customers have signed binding precedent agreements for the storage expansion capacity, which will be accessible from Tennessee Gas Pipeline through an existing connection and from Millennium Pipeline through a proposed connection (see NGI Daily, April 6).

CNYOG, a subsidiary of Kansas City, MO-based Inergy LP, filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the expansion in February and has requested an expedited review and certificate by August so that service can begin in September 2007 (see Daily GPI, Feb. 21).

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