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Feds Approve 2 Pipeline Expansions

Monday, October 22, 2012

More items for Program/Project Management

Federal officials have green-lighted construction of two projects that will bring almost 100 miles of new natural-gas pipeline to the U.S.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave the go-ahead Sept. 20 to Alliance Pipeline for its Tioga Lateral Pipeline project in North Dakota. The planned in-service timing for the new, 79.3-mile pipeline is summer 2013.

Images: Spectra Energy Corp.

Two separate pipeline expansion projects have recently been approved in the U.S.

And last week, FERC reaffirmed its approval for Spectra Energy Corp.’s construction of a 20-mile New Jersey-New York Expansion Project. The company says the project will be completed during the fourth quarter of 2013, although opponents have vowed to appeal.

‘Major Milestone’

Alliance Pipeline’s Tioga Lateral Pipeline project is a 12-inch-diameter lateral pipeline that will connect new natural-gas production in the Williston Basin with the mainline in North Dakota. The natural gas will then be shipped to the Chicago market hub.

“This is a major milestone that enables Alliance to further align with market and customer needs, while capitalizing on our unique ability to ship liquids-rich natural gas, since the Alliance pipeline is directly connected to the large-scale NGL extraction and fractionation facility near Chicago,” said Mike McGonagill, senior VP and COO for Alliance Pipeline.

The pipeline has been certificated for 106,500 Mcf/day, and Hess Corporation has been contracted to transport 61,500 Mcf/day. The pipeline is expandable, based on shipper demand, Alliance says.

Alliance Pipeline System

The Alliance Pipeline system consists of about 2,311 miles of integrated Canadian and U.S. high-pressure natural-gas transmission pipeline. The system delivers natural gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Williston Basin to the Chicago market hub.

The U.S. portion of the system consists of about 900 miles of mainline and related infrastructure and has been in commercial service since December 2000. It delivers about 1.6 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day, according to Alliance.

Spectra Approval Stands

FERC approved Spectra’s NJ-NY pipeline project on June 29.  Since then, however, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy and other opponents challenged the decision on several grounds, including environmental concerns and an accusation that the agency failed to properly notify affected homeowners.

On Thursday (Oct. 18), the agency declined to reconsider its approval of the project, denying allegations that its original order was faulty, according to the Associated Press.

Spectra’s New Jersey-New York pipeline expansion will provide an additional 800 million cubic feet per day of natural gas capacity into that region.

The Spectra project will expand the company’s Texas Eastern Transmission and Algonquin Gas Transmission interstate pipeline systems. Once completed, the project will provide an additional 800 million cubic feet per day of natural gas capacity into the New Jersey/New York region, the company says.

The company says that the planning and construction phases of the project will create more than 5,200 direct and indirect jobs in local communities. Additionally, the project will result in an estimated $700 million in energy savings in the two states, according to Spectra.