Christopher E. Smith
OGJ Pipeline Editor
HOUSTON, Nov. 13 -- The final 195 miles of the Rockies Express-East pipeline was completed Nov. 12, entering service between the Lebanon Hub in Warren County, Ohio, and Clarington in Monroe County, Ohio.
The entire 1,679-mile Rockies Express Pipeline, extending from northwestern Colorado to eastern Ohio, is now operational and available for full firm shipper nominations, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP said.
Long-term, binding firm commitments have been secured for virtually all of the pipeline’s 1.8 bcfd capacity.
The Rockies Express line began service into Lebanon on June 28, opening the first direct route between the Rockies producing region and historically higher priced natural gas markets in Ohio and the US Northeast.
Shippers on the line took advantage of the new capacity almost immediately, moving gas away from the markets they had been serving in the Midwest to higher priced markets farther east. Regional price differentials shifted in response to the changes in gas flows.
Bentek Energy says completion of the final leg of line to Clarington and additional interconnections with the Northeast market will likely have similar effects (OGJ, Sept 7, 2009, p. 50).
Kinder Morgan owns 50% of the line, which it constructed and operates. Sempra Pipelines & Storage, a unit of Sempra, and ConocoPhillips each own a 25% stake.
Contact Christopher E. Smith at [email protected].
Map from Canada Energy Regulator.
