Laclede Gas Co. and Williams agreed to provide additional gasservice into the St. Louis area through a project that will expandthe Williams Gas Pipelines Central service area eastward fromKansas City to the St. Louis area. The project involves conversionof an existing 200-mile Williams petroleum pipeline to gas service.Williams also will install new compression, pipeline and deliveryfacilities. The project is fully subscribed, and firm service isexpected to begin in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve been working on various projects for years trying toreach the St. Louis market, and I think we’ve made it happen,” saidWilliams spokesman Tim Thuston. The line’s capacity will be about28 MMcf/d, and Laclede will take all of it, Thuston said. Williamswould not disclose the project’s cost.

Also serving Laclede and its 600,000 customers is MississippiRiver Transmission, an affiliate of NorAm, and Missouri PipelineCo. The Williams line will account for about 10% of Laclede’s gassupply, said Laclede spokesman Rick Hargraves; MRT will deliverabout 80%, and Missouri will deliver about 10%. The Williams line,which enters the Laclede system on its west side augments MRT,which reaches Laclede on the southeast.

Supplemental gas supplies are needed for the continued provisionof reliable service to the area served by Laclede, according toSteven Matthews, Laclede director of gas supply. The project “alsowill provide Laclede with access to the diverse, abundant reservesattached to Williams’ system.”

Laclede Gas transports and distributes gas to residential andindustrial customers in the St. Louis metropolitan area andsoutheastern Missouri. The Williams Gas Pipelines Central systemwas formerly called Williams Natural Gas.

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