Subject: alliance pipeline construction is complete
note : this text was released today by natural gas intelligence after an
interview with alliance personnel
construction completed on alliance pipeline
the c $ 4 . 6 billion alliance natural gas and liquids pipeline , designed to
transport 1 . 325 bcf / d from northeast
british columbia to chicago , has completed its construction phase and now is
commissioning the main line ,
laterals , compressors and supervisory equipment .
the final weld was completed last week near regina , sk , and alliance now is
injecting linepack . the 1 , 857
mile mainline is stretched to the chicago area from northeastern bc . october
is still the target month to begin
service of the pipeline , which will carry both natural gas and liquids .
the pipeline system will transport natural gas through a 36 - inch diameter
high - pressure line . there will be 14
mainline compressor stations : seven in canada and seven in the u . s . when it
began construction in 1999 ,
alliance already had commitments from 37 shippers for 15 - year contracts worth
a total of $ 8 . 2 billion .
the large volumes of gas alliance will haul from western canada into the u . s .
midwest is expected to have
a major impact on existing pipelines , markets and prices . transcanada
pipelines already has filed for new
tolls to compensate for customers which have failed to renew firm contracts
on its line and instead are routing
their gas through alliance . new gas that makes its way into the chicago area
could be sent on to southern
ontario through the chicago - to - dawn vector pipeline , scheduled to open in
late october with intial capacity
of 720 bcf / d . the foothills / northern border route from western canada into
the midwest also is expected to
see some slack .
alliance spokesman jay godfrey said last month that " when october comes we
won ' t be in the position that
we ' ll have to start filling the pipe . it essentially already is going to be
full . " connections to 37 gas plants are
already complete .
investors in alliance pipeline limited partnerships include affiliates of
coastal ( 14 . 4 % ) , enbridge ( 21 . 4 % ) ,
fort chicago energy partners lp ( 26 % ) , williams ( 14 . 6 % ) and westcoast energy
( 23 . 6 % ) .