AGL Resources’ Virginia Natural Gas broke ground Monday for its Hampton Roads Crossing (HRX) pipeline, which will connect its northern and southern pipeline systems for the first time by crossing the Hampton Roads harbor.

“The HRX pipeline is a key element in the development of Virginia’s energy infrastructure, which is called for in Virginia’s Energy Plan,” said AGL Resources CEO John W. Somerhalder II. “In addition to increased gas supply, this connection provides for an increase in reliability for residential and industrial customers and area military facilities.”

HRX is to transport up to 100,000 D/th of additional capacity into the Virginia Natural Gas distribution system to serve the growing Hampton Roads region. The project is expected to cost $123 million and be completed in late 2009.

Virginia Natural Gas is consulting with biologists, marine contractors and environmental engineers and others with significant experience in the development of marine pipelines to develop the most suitable and constructible pipeline for the harbor crossing, the company said. Directional drilling will be utilized for 75% of the length of the portion of the pipeline crossing the Hampton Roads harbor. Trenching will be used for 25% on the northern side of the pipeline. The company is routing 90% of the onshore portion of the pipeline in existing municipal or utility right-of-way.

AGL has embarked on another pipeline project, this one in Georgia, where the company’s Magnolia Pipeline project, part of a Capacity Supply Plan approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2007 and subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, will bring natural gas supply from the Elba Island liquefied natural gas facility off the Georgia coast near Savannah to the Atlanta metropolitan area (see Daily GPI, Nov. 14, 2007; Oct. 2, 2007).

“These infrastructure projects, coupled with our storage development projects, illustrate that we continue to have good opportunities to deploy capital in a way that will benefit the company and its shareholders long term,” Somerhalder said late last month (see Daily GPI, May 1).

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