June 2011 Vol. 238 No. 6

Projects

El Paso Successfully Closes Companion Open Seasons

El Paso Natural Gas Company (EPNG), has successfully closed companion open seasons and signed long-term agreements to expand its Willcox lateral and provide mainline 95,000 Dth/d of natural gas transportation to MGI Supply Ltd., a subsidiary of Pemex Gas, and 90,000 Dth/d to Mexicana de Cobre, S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, Mexico’s largest mining company and one of the world’s largest copper producers, for power-generation projects in Mexico.

The two open seasons, which closed April 29, 2011, offered up to 200,000 Dth/d of existing capacity held by EPNG on its south mainline, extending from the Waha Hub in West Texas to EPNG’s Willcox compressor station in Cochise County, AZ and 185,000 Dth/d of proposed additional capacity from the Willcox station to two delivery points, also in Cochise County, at the U.S.-Mexico border. Expansion of the Willcox lateral, anchored by 15-year contractual commitments, would utilize existing facilities at the Willcox compressor station after certain pipe and compression modifications are undertaken. This project is expected to generate more than $30 million of annual revenues when fully in service with estimated capital of $18 million.

Pending Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, the project is planned to be in service by April 1, 2013.