Pipe

Phase I of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s Mobile Bay Lateralexpansion went into operation last Saturday providing 350 MMcf/d ofcapacity from the Outer Continental Shelf to Station 82 and 214MMcf/d onshore from Station 82 to Transco’s mainline near Butler,AL. July 1 was the initially targeted in-service date.

NorAm Interstate Pipelines bought the intrastate Illini Pipelinefrom Houston-based Nuevo Energy Co. Illini Pipeline operates insouth central Illinois, serving customers in the East St. Louismetropolitan area. The line is about 70 miles long and has capacityup to 45,000 MMBtu/d. NorAm will continue to operate Illini as anintrastate system and expects to take over operation of the Illinisystem this summer.

New Jersey Natural Gas Co. (NJNG) and South Jersey Gas Co. (SJG)have formed a one-year alliance to capitalize on supply portfolioassets and create new marketing opportunities. The LDCs agreed torelease capacity to each other for more effective marketing of thatcapacity. For instance, South Jersey is a bigger player than NewJersey Natural on pipelines Columbia and Transco, while New JerseyNatural is a bigger player on Texas Gas and CNG. Under thearrangement, South Jersey will release its contracts on Texas Gasand CNG to New Jersey Natural, and New Jersey Natural will releaseits Columbia and Transco capacity to South Jersey.

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line defended its 700 MMcf/dMarketLink project against charges it is not supported by themarket because many of its contracts with shippers contain rightsto terminate under certain circumstances. Singling out the protestsand “motions to reject” of CNG Transmission and ConsolidatedEdison, Transco reminded the Commission many of its agreements arenot unlike those filed to support other projects. A few contracts,about 34% of its capacity, are , however, a little different thanwhat has arrived at the Commission in the past, the pipelineacknowledged.

Existing shippers on Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line haveshredded the pipeline company’s $529 million MarketLink expansionproject, saying it should be rejected by the Commission, or Transcoshould be put at risk for the cost. The project would add 154 milesof pipeline looping and 62,400 hp of compression along Transco’sLeidy Line, which extends from the Leidy hub in westernPennsylvania to New York City.

Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) and Maritimes& Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. (Maritimes) successfully crossedthe first major engineering hurdle in constructing their jointpipeline facilities, which represent the southernmost portion ofeach company’s pipeline system. The joint facilities eventuallywill bring more than 600 MMcf/d of Canadian gas to New Englandmarkets.

Williams Co. subsidiary Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line filed itsMarketLink Expansion Project with FERC yesterday, requestingauthorization to spend $529 million to build about 150 miles of42-inch and 36-inch diameter pipeline looping and more than 60,000hp of new compression along its Leidy Line and mainline in theNortheast. The pipeline expansion is designed to be a downstreamlink to northeastern gas markets primarily for supply arriving atthe Leidy Hub in Pennsylvania through the proposed IndependencePipeline, a 916 MMcf/d gas pipeline that would extend fromDefiance, OH. Independence, MarketLink and ANR Pipeline’sSupplyLink would be three parts to a new interstate gastransportation corridor stretching from the Chicago Hub to theNortheast.

While the natural gas industry generally believes the multiplepipeline projects planned for the Midwest and New England areoverkill, Roger Gale of the Washington International Energy Groupwould disagree.

Duke Energy Field Services further expanded its South Texasgathering and processing assets with the acquisition of theBrooks-Hidalgo Pipeline System from subsidiaries of Aquila Energyand Mitchell Energy effective April 1.