Moving in on an already crowded Mid-Atlantic field, Williams’ Transco Pipeline announced it is soliciting interest for a capacity expansion in its Zone 5, to run from Station 165 in Pittsylvania County, VA to Hertford County, NC.

Population growth and additional gas-fired power generation prompted the move, according to Gary Lauderdale, Transco senior vice president and general manager. “The demand for natural gas throughout eastern Virginia and North Carolina continues to grow at a rate exceeding the national average. In addition to the significant population growth, gas-fired power generation is expanding.”

Transco is evaluating market interest and will follow up with a formal open season in the near future. Market commitments will determine the size and scope of the project. Transco already had an iron in this particular fire with its proposed Momentum Expansion project, which would provide expanded service on its line from Station 65 in Louisiana to Station 165 in Virginia. The company held an open season for Momentum last fall, with an eye to expanding capacity between 250 MMcf/d and 700 MMcf/d. While the two Transco projects appear to overlap, a spokesperson said they were entirely separate projects.

Meanwhile, other pipelines have noticed the area’s growth phenomena. Dominion Transmission, Duke Energy Gas Transmission, and Columbia Gas Transmission all have pipeline construction projects under consideration for the Virginia and North Carolina area. Dominion has proposed a 200-mile, 600 MMcf/d Greenbrier Pipeline from its Cornwell Station near Charleston, WV, to a connection with Transco in Rockingham, NC (see Daily GPI, Oct. 3, 2000). Duke is looking to expand its recently acquired East Tennessee Natural Gas System with a 95-mile extension — the Patriot Extension — from Virginia into North Carolina (see Daily GPI, Oct. 25, 2000). And Columbia is assessing the response to an open season for its Homestead expansion in the Tidewater area of southeastern Virginia and Maryland and northeastern North Carolina (see Daily GPI, Nov. 21, 2000).

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