Enbridge tests Haynesville pipeline market

Enbridge will conduct a nonbinding open season from Apr. 13 to May 15 testing shipper interest in moving Haynesville shale gas from Carthage, Tex., to Washington parish in southeastern Louisiana.

April 3, 2009

Christopher E. Smith
OGJ Pipeline Editor

HOUSTON, Apr. 3 -- Enbridge Inc. will conduct a nonbinding open season from Apr. 13 to May 15 testing shipper interest in moving Haynesville shale natural gas from Carthage, Tex., to Washington parish in southeastern Louisiana.

The proposed LaCrosse Pipeline would extend 300 miles of 42-in. and 32-in. OD pipe from Enbridge's Carthage Hub to an interconnection with Sonat Pipeline, interconnecting with at least five interstate pipeline en route. LaCrosse could include as many as 12 pipeline interconnections, depending on shipper interest.

Enbridge expects to complete LaCrosse in late 2011 or early 2012 and is exploring the possibility of extending the line to Florida Gas Transmission's Station 10 near Wiggins, Miss.

The open season comes just one month after Chesapeake Energy Corp. shut in 7% of its Haynesville production and said cuts of an additional 10% in drilling were possible if natural gas prices remained low (OGJ Online, Mar. 2, 2009).

The spot natural gas price at Henry Hub on Mar. 2 was $4.36/MMbtu and had slipped to $3.56/MMbtu by Apr. 1.