Alliance gas pipeline gets FERC approval for ND lateral

Alliance Pipeline is moving ahead with construction preparations for its Tioga lateral natural gas pipeline project in North Dakota.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave Alliance the green light Sept. 20 for the line’s 79.3-mile, 12-in. lateral that will connect gas production from the Williston basin to the Alliance mainline in North Dakota.

The gas will then be shipped onward to Chicago. The planned in-service timing for the pipeline is summer 2013.

The pipeline has been certificated for 106.5 MMcfd, and is underpinned by a contract with Hess Corp. for transport of 61.5 MMcfd. The pipeline is expandable, based on shipper demand, Alliance reported.

The Alliance system consists of a 2,311-mile integrated Canadian and US high-pressure gas transmission pipeline system that will carry gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Williston basin to Chicago. The US portion of the system consists of 900 miles of mainline and related infrastructure. The system has been in commercial service since December 2000 and delivers an average of 1.6 bscfd of gas.