TransCanada Secures Commitments for ANR Pipeline
TransCanada Corp. has secured commitments to move Utica and Marcellus shale gas on its ANR Pipeline system, an existing long haul system with more than 10,000 miles of pipelines serving the Midwest and Gulf Coast.
The company has confirmed almost 2 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day of natural gas transportation on the Southeast Main Line (SEML) for an average term of 23 years. Approximately 1.25 bcf per day will commence in 2014, with the remaining volume commencing in 2015.
“This successful open season underscores the value of existing long haul gas pipelines. ANR continues to be a critical piece of natural gas infrastructure that enables growing U.S. production to access both existing continental and growing export markets, facilitating economic development, job creation and enhancing U.S. energy security and independence,” said Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and CEO. “Essentially 100 percent of the existing firm capacity on the ANR Southeast Main Line system has now been subscribed and TransCanada is reviewing several options for further expansion to accommodate additional volumes.”
Through a series of open seasons and working directly with customers, ANR secured contracts on available capacity on the SEML to move Utica and Marcellus shale gas to points north and south on the system. This includes most recently securing 600 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day as part of a reversal project on the SEML system. This project will enhance existing bidirectional flow capability that will allow more natural gas to move south to the Gulf Coast, where markets are experiencing a resurgence of natural gas demand for industrial use, as well as significant new demand related to natural gas exports from recently approved liquefaction terminals.
For the past year, shippers have shown support for projects developed by ANR, including the reversal of the Lebanon Lateral in western Ohio, the planned addition of compression at Sulphur Springs and the expansion of the interconnect with the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) at Shelbyville.
Capital costs associated with the system expansions required to bring the additional capacity to market are currently estimated to be about $100 million.
ANR is also assessing further demand from our customers to transport natural gas from the Utica formation, which could result in incremental opportunities to enhance and expand the system. ANR is one of the few pipelines with an existing footprint that provides key market access both to the upper Midwest (Michigan, Dawn via Great Lakes Gas Transmission, Chicago and Wisconsin), as well as the U.S. Gulf Coast.
“These successful projects confirm our view that our Southeast Main Line will continue to be a highly valued route to the Midwest, Gulf Coast and Ontario markets that ANR serves,” Girling said. “ANR will continue to be an attractive transportation option due to its strategic footprint, interconnections, on- system storage and access to high demand markets, which positions it very favorably in providing new services to Utica producers and existing ANR customers looking to add Utica and Marcellus gas to their portfolios.”
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