Major new pipelines under construction and proposed will take the Rocky Mountain region’s natural gas bounty to major markets in California, the Phoenix area and the Midwest, where it will free up other supplies for the gas-starved Northeast:
—Rockies Express Pipeline. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP is building the 1,678-mile pipeline originating in Meeker, Colo., with a final terminal in Clarington, Ohio. The pipeline already is operational as far as Audrain County, Mo. At full capacity it will move 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.
— The Phoenix Expansion Project. Transwestern Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, is building a 260-mile pipeline that will deliver 500,000 cubic feet of natural gas a day to the Phoenix area. The company also is building a second 26-mile pipeline out of the San Juan basin of northwestern New Mexico that will connect to its system and feed the new pipeline to Phoenix.
—Ruby Pipeline. El Paso Corp. and partners are proposing to build the 680-mile Ruby Pipeline from the Opal, Wyo., hub, a junction for major gas pipelines 15 miles east of Kemmerer, Wyo., to Malin, Ore., near California’s northern border. It’s designed to move 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas a day with the capability of expanding to 2 billion cubic feet.
—Williams Co. subsidiary ONEOK Partners LP is building the 760-mile Overland Pass Pipeline to carry natural gas liquids from Opal, Wyo., to a final terminal near Conway, Kan. Natural gas liquids, such as methane, propane and butane, are used for home heating, indoor and outdoor cooking, motor fuels and by plastic manufacturers.
—Kern River Gas Transmission Co., a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., is looking at doubling up the 1,700-mile Kern River gas pipeline, which connects Wyoming to southern California.
