• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Inergy's Stagecoach Facility Has Sold 100% of Existing Firm Storage Capacity; Anticipates Open Season for Phase II Expansion in Mid-November

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 21:01 CDT

Inergy, L.P. (NASDAQ:NRGY) announced today that its regulated subsidiary Central New York Oil And Gas Company, LLC ("CNYOG") has sold 100% of the firm storage capacity at its Stagecoach natural gas storage facility located in Tioga County, New York. Binding agreements have been entered into with third party shippers for the last 2.4 Bcf of available storage space.

"Our ability to sell the remaining available space at Stagecoach ahead of schedule further validates the quality of our investment in this state-of-the-art storage complex and is indicative of the strong demand for natural gas storage capacity in the Northeast," said John Sherman, Inergy's President and CEO. "We are aggressively moving forward on our development of the Phase II expansion project."

Regarding its Phase II expansion project, Inergy announced that certain environmental, geological and engineering studies are underway as well as civil survey efforts associated with the development of its expansion project. Rights to natural gas reservoirs in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, as well as in Tioga County, New York, have been recently acquired to accommodate the expansion. Inergy proposes to expand the working gas capacity of the existing Stagecoach facility by an approximate 12 to 13 Bcf through the addition of up to 10 new wells in the acquired reservoirs. In addition, Inergy plans to build a gathering pipeline system and compressor station enhancements as well as construct a pipeline connection between the existing compressor station and the proposed Millennium pipeline in northern Tioga County, New York.

Inergy anticipates conducting an "open season" for firm storage services provided by the Phase II expansion in mid-November. Subject to all necessary regulatory approvals, construction is expected to begin in 2006 with a proposed commercial in-service date during the fourth quarter of 2007. CNYOG will be filing for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorizing the Phase II capacity expansion, the pipeline interconnection, and the compressor station enhancements.

"We are pursuing the Stagecoach expansion in a manner that will continue to give our customers the flexibility and reliability they have come to expect, while focusing on safe and environmentally-supportive construction techniques that our employees and the communities in which we live deserve," said Bill Moler, Vice President - Midstream Operations.

Inergy, L.P., with headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., is among the fastest growing master limited partnerships in the country. The company's operations include the retail marketing, sale and distribution of propane to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. Today, Inergy serves approximately 700,000 retail customers from over 300 customer service centers throughout the eastern half of the United States. The company also operates a natural gas storage business and a supply logistics, transportation and wholesale marketing business that serves independent dealers and multi-state marketers in the United States and Canada.

Inergy Holdings, L.P. (NASDAQ:NRGP) owns the general partners of Inergy, L.P., including an approximate 1.2% general partner interest, a 9.5% limited partner interest, a special unit interest, and all of the incentive distribution rights in Inergy, L.P.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which are statements that are not historical in nature such as the expectation that the Phase II expansion will add additional 12-13 Bcf of working gas capacity, the "open season" for firm storage service will begin in mid-November, and construction estimated to begin in 2006 with commercial operations in summer 2007. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or any underlying assumption proves incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements are: weather conditions that vary significantly from historically normal conditions, the demand for high deliverability natural gas storage capacity in the Northeast, the general level of petroleum product demand and the availability of natural gas and the price of natural gas to the consumer compared to the price of alternative and competing fuels, our ability to successfully implement our business plan for the Stagecoach facility, our ability to generate available cash for distribution to unitholders, the outcome of rate decisions levied by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the costs and effects of legal, regulatory and administrative proceedings against us or which may be brought against us. These and other risks and assumptions are described in Inergy's annual report on Form 10-K and other reports that are available from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Corporate news, unit prices and additional information about Inergy, including reports from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, are available on the company's Web site, www.InergyPropane.com. For more information, contact Mike Campbell in Inergy's Investor Relations Department at 816-842-8181 or via e-mail at investorrelations@inergyservices.com.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category