Dominion Transmission Planning to Expand Mid Atlantic Natural Gas Pipeline System

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Dominion Transmission Corporation (Clarksburg West Virginia) is in the planning and permitting phase of the Mid-Atlantic Expansion Project. The $83 million project will involve the construction of two new and the expansion of three existing natural gas compressor stations located in three states and a total of 39,200 of new horsepower (hp). Dominion will also conduct work on abandoned oil wells at its Fink Kennedy/Lost Creek Storage Reservoir to insure the integrity of the reservoir.

At the existing Crayne Compressor station in Green County Pennsylvania Dominion will install one new 7,800hp turbine unit, reconfigure an existing 6,500hp turbine to up-rate it to 7,800hp and remove unit #1. Unit #1 is a 5,500hp turbine, which will be reconfigured to 5,000hp and transferred to the new Mocking Bird Compressor Station in Wetzel County West Virginia.

The Chambersburg Compressor Station in Franklin County will receive two new 7,800hp turbine units and two existing 4,000hp electric drive units will be up-rated to 4,600hp each. One new 7,800hp turbine unit will be added to the Leesburg Compressor Station in Loudoun County Virginia and the new Quantico Compressor Station in Fauquier County Virginia will be centered on a new 6,000hp turbine unit.

In a move to keep capital costs low, Dominion will lease 5.6 Bcf of firm storage service and 223 mmscfd of new firm capacity on Texas Eastern Transmission's CRP pipeline system in Pennsylvania. Texas Eastern Transmission, LP (Houston Texas) will in turn expend $82 million to construct 36.64-miles of 36" diameter pipeline in four loops. Dominion will save $140 million by not having to construct 125-miles of 20" diameter pipeline from the Crayne Compressor Station to the Chambersburg Compressor Station, which would cause over 100 miles of environmental impact. Dominion will pay $1,085,341 per month to Texas Eastern for the leased capacity.

Dominion filed an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity with the FERC on January 24th 2003 requesting the commission to issue a Preliminary Determination with respect to non-environmental issues by July 31, 2003. Dominion expects to receive a final certificate from the FERC in November 2003 approving the expansion project and will begin construction in the first quarter of 2004.

The Mid-Atlantic Expansion Project will provide firm storage and transportation services of natural gas to serve incremental markets in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. areas by November 1, 2004.

Dominion Transmission Corporation is a subsidiary of Dominion Resources Corporation (Richmond Virginia) (NYSE:D). Dominion Resources has assets of over $35 billion and owns over 10,000-miles of natural gas pipeline and operates the largest natural gas storage system in the US with over 960 Bcf in capacity. Dominion Resources also owns & operated over 24,000 megawatts of electrical generation and 6,000-miles of transmission lines.

IIR has been tracking the progress of the Mid-Atlantic Expansion Project since May of 2001.