Cheyenne Plains pipeline project approved

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Two Houston, Texas, firms got approval from the federal government in March to build and expand natural gas pipelines in the western United States.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission speeded approval of El Paso Corp.’s $425 million, 380-mile, pipeline that will boost the amount of Wyoming natural gas heading to eastern markets. Kinder Morgan Inc. got approval for a $28.6 million expansion of its TransColorado pipeline that runs from Rio Blanco County, Colo., to New Mexico’s San Juan County.

El Paso’s Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline is expected to increase Wyoming’s total export capacity by 560 million cubic feet per day. The 36-inch diameter pipeline will run from the Cheyenne, Wyo., hub to Greensburg, Kan., and could be in service by January next year.

Portions of the pipeline will follow existing pipeline routes while others will be “green field” routes, crossing lands previously without pipeline systems.

FERC considered the Cheyenne Plains project a priority because of its benefit to the nation’s natural gas transmission system, FERC spokeswoman Tamara Young Allen said.

Some 14 shippers, a combination of producers, marketers and end-user distribution companies, have signed firm contracts for capacity totaling 560 million cubic feet per day. El Paso said the company secured additional 10-year contracts to support expanding the pipeline to 730 million cubic feet per day.

The significant interest among potential gas shippers prompted the expansion. Construction of facilities to add pipeline capacity will begin shortly after initial construction, El Paso said.

Work could begin as early as June.

Proven gas reserves in the Rockies have increased 6.5 percent annually from 1990 to 2001, but new pipeline construction has lagged behind the drill bit.

Kinder Morgan’s expansion plans include adding new compressor stations in Montrose, Montezuma and Mesa counties and a unit in Dolores County designed to boost the 292 mile TransColorado pipeline’s capacity from 300 million cubic feet of gas per day to 425 million cubic feet of gas per day.