March 2009 Vol. 236 No. 3

Projects

El Paso Seek Approval For 675-Mile Ruby Pipeline

El Paso Corporation has filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct and operate the Ruby Pipeline.

“Additional capacity out of the Rockies is urgently needed, and Ruby is the right solution to help end users and producers,” said Jim Cleary, president of El Paso’s Western Pipelines. “We have completed the environmental, archaeological, and subsurface assessments for our proposed route and are on track to be in service in March 2011, pending FERC approval.”

The proposed 675-mile, 42-inch interstate natural gas pipeline will access growing sources of supply from multiple Rockies’ basins and make those supplies available to Nevada, California, and Pacific Northwest markets. Ruby is expected to have an initial design capacity of up to 1.5 Bcf/d.

In other news, El Paso announced the cancellation of the Arizona Gas Storage project, planned by El Paso Natural Gas Company at Eloy, AZ, southeast of Phoenix. No further effort toward development of this facility in Arizona is planned.

According to an El Paso spokesperson, the marketplace made the decision that the inherently high costs associated with natural gas storage service cannot be justified at this time.