Rockies Express-West gas pipe gets US FERC environmental nod

Washington (Platts)--16Mar2007

The 795-mile Western segment of the giant Rockies Express natural gas
pipeline that would stretch from Wyoming to eastern Ohio can be built without
doing significant damage to the environment, a US Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission report concluded on Friday.

The project parts, proposed by Rockies Express Pipeline, TransColorado
Gas Transmission and Questar Overthrust Pipeline, are being developed
separately. But FERC assessed them in one environmental impact statement
because they are interconnected and essential components of a larger, combined
transportation system.

In total, the combined Western segment would include nearly 800 miles of
pipeline and 237,000 hp of new compression. The 713-mile first west-east
segment, called REX-West, would extend from the Cheyenne Hub in Weld County,
Colorado, to an interconnection with Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line located in
Audrain County, Missouri.

Construction of the so-called REX-West segment is scheduled for
completion in 2008 if the commission approves the project by the end of March.
The original Rockies Express proposal with an endpoint in Clarington, Ohio, is
tagged for completion in 2009.

Once completed, the long-haul system would be capable of transporting up
to 1.5 Bcf/d of Rocky Mountain gas to markets in the Midwest and Northeast. It
is among the largest pipeline projects in the US amid a flurry of
infrastructure development tied to increased domestic production out of the
Rocky Mountains and liquefied natural gas imports.

FERC staff said the principle reasons it gave the environmental nod to
the project are that: nearly the entire REX-West project would run within
existing rights-of-way; the pipeline sponsors agreed to implement plans to
protect natural resources, avoid or limit environmental impact, and promote
restoration of all disturbed areas during construction and operation; and the
use of horizontal directional drill methods would avoid disturbances to the
beds and banks of the Missouri River, Big Creek and the Little Blue River.

FERC must still approve the project in full before it can be built.