Nearly six months to the date it received a certificate, Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co. got FERC clearance to put into service the much-anticipated Grasslands Pipeline. The 253-mile pipe opens up a new route for producers to transport Powder River Basin coalbed methane gas and Rocky Mountain conventional supplies to markets in the Midwest and Midcontinent.

The Commission gave Williston Basin the go-ahead last month to put into operation part of the project — the Wyoming Loop and a compressor unit — and approved on Thursday the pipeline’s request to startup the rest of the Grasslands Pipeline system. The new pipeline will go into service “early next week,” a Williston Basin spokesman told NGI. FERC’s approval came within one day of Williston Basin’s request to begin deliveries.

The $60 million Grasslands Pipeline has had the widespread backing of Wyoming and Montana natural gas producers and other western business interests, which pressed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to award a certificate promptly so that the line could be constructed this year — before the onslaught of heavy winter weather.

The entire 80 MMcf/d of initial capacity created by the pipeline has been subscribed, according to Williston Basin, a subsidiary of Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc.

The 16-inch diameter pipe starts 14 miles north of Gillette, WY, and terminates just south of Killdeer, ND, where it interconnects with the Northern Border Pipeline system. While the line’s initial capacity will be 80 MMcf/d, it has the capability to expand to 200 MMcf/d by adding compression and some looping, Williston Basin said.

Last April, the company filed an application at FERC to add 120 MMcf/d of firm transportation capacity to the Grasslands system. The so-called Grasslands II project calls for the addition of three new compressor stations and compression units at existing stations [PF03-03]. It is targeted for in-service on Nov. 1, 2004.

The Williston Basin system now includes 3,300 miles-plus of transmission lines serving North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. It has the capability to deliver 500 MMcf/d on a peak day.

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.