Report Volume XXI, Number 14, March 15th, 2010
Posted by pcook on March 15, 2010 · Leave a Comment
INDUSTRY NEWS (Bismarck, ND) – Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company, the wholly owned natural gas transmission pipeline subsidiary of MDU Resources, announced plans to increase firm deliverability from its existing Baker storage facility in southeastern Montana. In conjunction with the storage enhancement, Williston Basin also announced plans to expand its existing natural gas pipeline system from the Baker storage facility to western North Dakota, where it connects with the Northern Border Pipeline.
The proposed storage enhancement would add up to 125 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) to existing firm storage deliverability volumes from the Baker storage facility. The storage project will be accomplished by drilling new storage wells, adding compression and replacing and looping existing storage gathering pipelines. The associated pipeline expansion will require new compression as well as looping of existing pipelines between Baker and Northern Border Pipeline. The project cost is expected to be in the range of $100 – $130 million, and the targeted in-service date is April 2012.
The Baker storage facility has a current firm withdrawal capacity of 115 MMcf/d. The proposed enhancement project will more than double firm deliverability from the Baker field, bringing the total to 240 MMcf/d. The ultimate size of the storage and pipeline expansion projects will depend on shipper interest.
A binding open season for the Baker storage enhancement and associated pipeline expansion began on February 16, 2010, and will run through March 18, 2010. Open season documents will be available on Williston Basin’s Web site at www.wbip.com.
“Usage of our storage facilities reached record levels in 2009 and we are currently sold out of firm storage capacity so this is an excellent time to move forward with an enhancement of our Baker storage field,” said Steven L. Bietz, president and chief executive officer of Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company. “We feel confident that increasing the firm storage deliverability at our Baker facility, along with associated firm pipeline capacity to Northern Border, will be well received by both existing and potential new customers.”
INDUSTRY NEWS (Houston, TX) – Williams Partners LP recently began a binding open season to gauge interest in natural gas transportation on its Transco pipeline from the prolific Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to New York and New Jersey markets.
The company said in a statement the Northeast Supply Link expansion project would provide 420,000 dekatherms per day of incremental firm service on Williams’ Transco system.
The expansion would run from interconnections accessing Marcellus production along its Leidy Line in Pennsylvania to its station 210 pooling point and existing New York City delivery points.
The Marcellus Shale, which spans parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York, is reported to contain enough natural gas trapped in rock to meet domestic needs for a decade or more.
The 10,000-mile Transco gas pipeline system has the capacity to deliver 8.6 billion cubic feet per day of supply from the Gulf Coast to markets in the Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
It is a major supplier of natural gas to metropolitan areas in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The company said it had executed a precedent agreement with an anchor shipper for 200,000 dekatherms per day of the capacity, with the remaining 220,000 dekatherms offered in the open season, which runs through March 26. Williams said the level of market interest would determine the cost and facilities required for the expansion.
Subject to regulatory approval, the first phase of the project would be placed in-service in November 2012.
INDUSTRY NEWS (Easton, PA) – Columbia Gas Transmission announced that it has hosted open houses in Orange County, N.Y., and Pike County, Pa., to discuss proposed plans to replace and upgrade a segment of its Line 1278 and Line K pipelines. The New York open house was held on Thursday, March 11. Columbia is proposing to replace approximately 17 miles of its existing Line 1278 and Line K pipelines as a part of our commitment to continue safe and reliable natural gas transportation to meet the energy needs of the region. A majority of the proposed project will be completed through a ‘lift and lay’ process, in which the existing pipeline will be removed and replaced with a new pipeline in the same rightof- way. For more information about NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage, please visit www.ngts.com.
INDUSTRY NEWS (Houston, TX) – Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company-Construction of a 16- mile natural gas pipeline addition that would cut across West Milford and under the Monksville Reservoir should begin later this year after the project cleared another key regulatory hurdle, a utility executive said Thursday.
A recent report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission determined that the $750 million Tennessee Gas pipeline would not have a severe environmental impact on the region even though a state report last year said it would disturb about 230 acres, much of it forest.
The 30-inch underground pipeline would run next to Tennessee Gas’ existing 24-inch pipeline. It would start in Wantage outside the Highlands and pass for 8.7 miles east through Vernon, cut 6.7 miles across West Milford and extend for about half a mile into Ringwood. It is expected to be built in the second half of 2010 and go online by November 2011.