Ruby Pipeline Wins Fed Approval to Move Rockies NG to West Coast Markets

April 6th, 2010 • Filed Under
feature photo

Reported by Staff

The multi-billion dollar Ruby Pipeline natural gas project from Wyoming to the West Coast has won approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to an announcement by El Paso Corporation.

The project has received support from several state administrations in the Rocky Mountain region, which have cited  the acute need to enhance infrastructure for moving natural gas to domestic markets.

The Ruby Pipeline runs nearly 700 miles between a natural gas hub at Opal, Wyoming and a connection point close to the Oregon-California border. The 42-inch diameter pipeline has enough capacity to handle the movement of up to 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas on a daily basis. El Paso said it’s still waiting for right-of-way approval from the BLM, but expects construction to start within a few months with completion expected in March 2011.

Several major energy companies operating in Colorado have already signed agreements to ship natural gas on the pipeline, including Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Barry Petroleum Company, Antero Resources Piceance Corp., BP Energy Company, Shell Energy North America, Marathon Oil Co. and Bill Barrett Corp. A major investor in the project is Connecticut-based Global Infrastructure Partners, which could pony up as much as $700 million in the Ruby Pipeline project, when all is said and done.


Post a Response