Nexus Gas Transmission LLC and the interconnected Texas Eastern Appalachian Lease (TEAL) Project are ready to ramp up east-to-west capacity out of the nation’s key natural gas basin, according to recent FERC filings.

Texas Eastern Transmission LP (Tetco) on Wednesday filed an in-service request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for Phase I of TEAL, designed to eventually add about 950,000 Dth/d of firm transport capacity from receipt points on Tetco’s M2 market zone and Line 73 to an interconnect with Nexus near the existing Kensington Processing Plant in Columbiana County, OH.

Phase I, which began construction last December, includes, among other facilities and modifications, about 4.4 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline looping in eastern Ohio.

Tetco expects the Phase I facilities to be mechanically complete by Friday (Oct. 26) and has asked FERC for in-service authorization by early next week (Oct. 30).

FERC authorized TEAL’s Phase II — including the 18,800 hp Salineville Compressor Station in Columbiana County and an additional 9,400 hp compressor unit at the existing Colerain Compressor Station in Belmont County, OH — to start construction in June.

Meanwhile, sponsors of the greenfield 1.5 Bcf/d Nexus pipeline told FERC late last week that two Ohio compressor stations are ready to be brought online: the Wadsworth Compressor Station in Medina County and the Clyde Compressor Station in Sandusky County. Both facilities finished construction earlier this month, the operator told FERC.

The 257.5-mile, 36-inch diameter Nexus, backed by DTE Energy and Enbridge Inc., secured Commission approval earlier this month to place 966,823 Dth/d of capacity into service targeting markets in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario in Canada.

As the winter heating season approaches, Nexus would compete with the 3.25 Bcf/d Rover Pipeline to serve an Appalachian producing region that has looked significantly less congested amid a wave of infrastructure projects hitting the market.

So far, Nexus has been flowing about 350,000 Dth/d under short-term contracts and around Nov. 1 is expected to begin flowing around 840,000 Dth/d in long-term anchor shipper contracts, management said Wednesday during a conference call to discuss third quarter earnings.

DTE management also plans to begin transitioning short-term volumes into long-term contracts in 2019. “The real juice from this comes from all the add-on investments and expansions and other opportunities that a platform creates,” CEO Gerry Anderson said.

Meanwhile, the company is also looking at other opportunities to connect neighboring asset laterals.

DTE reported third quarter earnings of $334 million ($1.84/share), compared with profits of $270 million ($1.51) in 3Q2017. Operating earnings were $388 million ($2.13), compared with $264 million ($1.48) a year ago.

DTE has increased 2018 earnings guidance to $1.109-1.174 billion from $1.005-1.082 billion. The operating earnings per share (EPS) guidance midpoint was increased by 17 cents to $6.30. For 2019, DTE has preliminary earnings guidance of $1.099-1.166 billion, with EPS at $6.15.