EL PASO SEEKS TO EXPAND EAST END SYSTEM

El Paso Natural Gas Co. has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve a 680 MMcfd, $109.2 million expansion project on the east end system in the Permian basin. Plans call for laying about 120 miles of 36 in. loop, as well as addition of a 12,000 hp compressor at Keystone station in Winkler County, Tex. The goal is to increase system flexibility and provide added off-system delivery capacity to markets in the U.S. Midwest and East. El Paso asked FERC for "fast track" approval

Oct. 22, 1990

2 min read

El Paso Natural Gas Co. has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve a 680 MMcfd, $109.2 million expansion project on the east end system in the Permian basin.

Plans call for laying about 120 miles of 36 in. loop, as well as addition of a 12,000 hp compressor at Keystone station in Winkler County, Tex. The goal is to increase system flexibility and provide added off-system delivery capacity to markets in the U.S. Midwest and East.

El Paso asked FERC for "fast track" approval by Dec. 31 so construction can begin in 1991 to permit start-up early in 1992.

El Paso's east end system is about 140 miles of pipelines from Plains compressor station in Yoakum County, Tex., to a point on its mainline system in Lea County, N.M., to Keystone compressor station, and terminating at El Paso's Waha compressor station in Reeves County, Tex.

Summer design capacity for the existing east end system is about 172 MMcfd. The proposed expansion would permit El Paso to provide capacity on the new segment of as much as 680 MMcfd.

El Paso would offer shippers incremental firm transportation under a new rate schedule. It has 53 requests for firm transportation service and expects to execute service agreements no later than Nov. 16.

The latest El Paso filing complements its $241.5 million application last month, which proposed an added 835 MMcfd in takeaway capacity from the San Juan basin, increased mainline capacity of 400 MMcfd to California, and conversion of the Permian-San Juan crossover line to bidirectional flow (OGJ, Sept. 24, p. 56).