Sempra Pipelines & Storage To Acquire Stake In Sunstone Pipeline
By Anonymous
Sunstone Pipeline, a venture of Williams and TransCanada Corp., announced that Sempra Pipelines & Storage, a unit of Sempra Energy, has signed a MOU with the existing partners to acquire a 25% ownership interest in Sunstone Pipeline and for a Sempra Energy affiliate to contract for a significant amount of capacity in the proposed natural gas pipeline. The estimated $2.34 billion pipeline project would run from the Rockies to Oregon. The news that Sempra Pipelines & Storage intends to acquire a stake in Sunstone came shortly after the conclusion of an open season for transmission capacity from the Rocky Mountain supply area at Opal, WY to Stanfield, OR. Seven other shippers have made commitments to the proposed pipeline.
“We believe Sunstone Pipeline is the most promising of the proposed westbound natural gas pipelines from the Rocky Mountain producing region,” said George S. Liparidis, President/CEO of Sempra Pipelines & Storage. “With expanding production in the Rockies, the Sunstone Pipeline will provide needed transportation from this basin to meet growing demand in the Pacific Northwest and California markets and offer a critical supply alternative for these gas customers.”
Sunstone is a proposed 585-mile, 42-inch pipeline with capacity of up to 1.2 Bcf/d. The project, which is proposed for service in 2011, would involve constructing a new pipeline substantially parallel to the existing Northwest Pipeline system which is jointly owned by Williams and Williams Pipeline Partners L.P. Sunstone will originate at the Opal Hub in Wyoming and extend to Stanfield, OR where it will interconnect with Williams Northwest Pipeline system and TransCanada ‘s Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) pipeline system.
From Stanfield, natural gas can reach California and Nevada markets via GTN. Natural gas could also flow to Pacific Northwest markets such as Seattle and Portland via Williams Northwest Pipeline system and the proposed Blue Bridge Pipeline. Natural gas could also reach Oregon markets off of GTN via the proposed Palomar Pipeline.
Copyright Oildom Publishing Company of Texas, Inc. Aug 2008
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