CONSTRUCTION UNDER WAY ON IROQUOIS SYSTEM

Construction began last week on the Iroquois gas pipeline project from the Canadian border to Long Island, N.Y. Start of construction on Iroquois Pipeline Operating Co.'s 370 mile, 575.9 MMcfd system follows the granting last month of the final permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the project last November (see map, OGJ, Nov. 19, 1990, p. 40). Cost of the line is estimated at $583 million.

March 11, 1991

3 min read

Construction began last week on the Iroquois gas pipeline project from the Canadian border to Long Island, N.Y.

Start of construction on Iroquois Pipeline Operating Co.'s 370 mile, 575.9 MMcfd system follows the granting last month of the final permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the project last November (see map, OGJ, Nov. 19, 1990, p. 40).

Cost of the line is estimated at $583 million.

At its height, construction will employ more than 2,500 contract and noncontract workers on six spreads, Iroquois Pres. Robert J. Reid told an industry group in Houston.

SPREADS

Contracts will be awarded for Spreads 1, 2, and 3 next month, while awards for Spreads 4, 5, and 6 will follow in May.

Iroquois will use separate spreads for the crossing of Long Island Sound, at a cost of $25 million, and crossings of the St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Housatonic rivers.

It was the crossing of Long Island Sound that began last week. It is to be complete by mid-July.

The directionally drilled crossing of the Housatonic River will take place in June-August. Crossings of the St. Lawrence and Hudson rivers will start in June and be complete in October.

By November, Iroquois will have completed all but about 60 miles of the pipeline's construction in New York and Connecticut and will commence deliveries to customers.

The final connection from Pleasant Valley, N.Y., to Milford, Conn., will be complete by January 1992. At that time, Iroquois will start direct deliveries to Connecticut and Long Island.

CONTRACTS

Last fall, bid invitations to supply the pipe were extended to mills in Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Canada, and the U.S.

Upon acceptance of the FERC certificate in November, Iroquois immediately completed pipe orders with Stelpipe Inc., Welland, Ont., and Berg Steel Pipe Corp., Panama City, Fla.

Reid said Stelpipe and Berg were two of the few mills "able to meet our construction schedule and our exacting technical specifications."

Both orders totaled more than $125 million. Pipe delivery has begun.

Valves and fittings have been purchased for more than $3.3 million from Canadian and U.S. firms. Of that sum, $2.2 million has been spent with Serck Audco Valves, Houston; Cameron, Cooper Oil Tool Division, Houston; Nordstrom Valve, Sulfur Springs, Tex.; and Steel Forgings Inc., Shreveport, La.

PARTNERS

The Iroquois group of owners consists of 12 U.S. and Canadian energy companies.

A Canadian group consists of TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. 29% and AEC Pipelines 6%.

One of the two U.S. groups is made up of Brooklyn Union Gas 11.4%, Yankee Energy Services 11.1%, New Jersey Natural Resources and J. Makowski Co. 3% each, Connecticut Natural Gas 2.4%, New York Power Authority 2.1%, and Long Island Lighting Co. 1%.

The second U.S. group consists of Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. 13.2% and ANR Pipeline and CNG Transmission Corp. 9.4% each.

Ownership interests are rounded.

Of the gas in the system, 58% will be used in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. The rest will serve markets in New York and New Jersey.