By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 19--Palomar Gas Transmission LLC, a joint venture of TransCanada Corp. and Northwest Natural Gas Co., filed an application with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a certificate to build and operate a 217-mile, 36-in. natural gas interstate transmission pipeline in Oregon.
If the certificate application is approved by FERC by the end of 2009, Palomar could begin construction in 2010 with a target in-service date of November 2011. Palomar would be only the second interstate gas transmission pipeline to serve customers in Oregon's Willamette Valley and southwest Washington State.
The proposed pipeline would extend from the Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) pipeline, a TransCanada-owned pipeline in central Oregon, to a point on the Columbia River northwest of Portland. The pipeline as proposed would be capable of transporting up to 1.3 bcfd of natural gas.
Palomar would provide NW Natural with additional access to the interstate pipeline grid via an interconnect near the town of Molalla southeast of Portland. As proposed, Palomar would also connect with facilities of the proposed Bradwood LNG terminal in Clatsop County.