COASTAL SHELVES WYCAL GAS PIPELINE PROJECT

Coastal Corp., Houston, has suspended plans to build its proposed $576 million, 670 mile, 600 MMcfd Wyoming-California Pipeline Co. (WyCal) gas pipeline. "At this point, the project has been shelved," a Coastal official said. "We may take another look at it if the economics change." The official cited press reports that Coastal Chairman Oscar S. Wyatt and Pres. Jim Paul had said the reason for suspending it was competition from Kern River Transmission Co.

Dec. 17, 1990

2 min read

Coastal Corp., Houston, has suspended plans to build its proposed $576 million, 670 mile, 600 MMcfd Wyoming-California Pipeline Co. (WyCal) gas pipeline.

"At this point, the project has been shelved," a Coastal official said. "We may take another look at it if the economics change."

The official cited press reports that Coastal Chairman Oscar S. Wyatt and Pres. Jim Paul had said the reason for suspending it was competition from Kern River Transmission Co.

Kern River, a 50-50 joint venture of Tenneco Inc. and Williams Cos. Inc., is a planned 676 mile, 36 in. natural gas line to move 700 MMcfd from an interconnect with Northwest Pipeline Co. near Opal, Wyo., to near Daggett, Calif.

Kern River expects to begin work on the first spreads of the line this month, a Northwest official said.

PERMIT NOT WITHDRAWN

An official of CIG Western Pipeline Co., the Coastal unit in charge of building the line, confirmed construction plans had been shelved but said its permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had not been withdrawn.

Coastal and CIG officials declined to comment on when Coastal might make a final decision to either kill the project or proceed with it.

"All I can say is our FERC certificate is good for 5 years," the Coastal official said.

WyCal was to have moved mostly Rocky Mountain gas from Hams Fork, Southwest Wyoming, to connect with intrastate systems operated by Southern California Gas Co. and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) at Piute Junction, near Needles, Calif.

COMPETING PROJECTS

At the same point near Needles, Kern River is to merge with Mojave Pipeline Co., a partnership of Enron Corp. and El Paso Natural Gas Co.

The resulting 42 in., jointly owned pipeline would run 121 miles from Daggett, Calif., to southeast of Bakersfield, where it would split into 30 in. laterals running 55 miles to Kern River field and 48 miles to the western San Joaquin Valley (OGJ, Oct. 1, p. 80).

Another interstate gas pipeline project to California that is still active is the proposed expansion of the PG&E-Pacific Gas Transmission system from Alberta to northern California.