Upper Midwest gas pipeline project slated

Three Midwestern energy companies-Wicor, CMS Energy Corp., and Northern States Power Co. unit Viking Gas Transmission Co.-have signed an agreement to build an interstate natural gas pipeline to serve markets in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

Each company will hold an equal ownership percentage in the proposed project, to be named Guardian pipeline. Guardian's initial capacity will be 750 MMcfd of gas, which will be shipped from numerous interconnections with major interstate pipe- lines at the Chicago hub near Joliet, Ill., to the Watertown, Wis., area (see map [62,987 bytes]).

"(Guardian) can be expanded up to 1.1 bcfd," said partner CMS Energy. Potential shippers will have the opportunity to vie for additional firm transportation capacity during an open season set for April.

Various interstate system interconnections with Guardian are located in Illinois just southwest of Chicago. They include interconnects with Midwestern Gas Transmission, Natural Gas Pipeline of America, and Northern Border Pipeline. The new Guardian system will also act as an additional conduit for capacity from the Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. and Trunkline Gas Co. pipeline systems, recently acquired by CMS Energy (OGJ, Nov. 9, 1998, p. 37). In mid-March, CMS Energy's $2.2 billion purchase of the pipeline group from Duke Energy was granted U.S. Federal Trade Commission approval (see Industry Briefs, p. 30).

Routing, interconnects

Guardian will also be fed via an interconnect at Joliet with the proposed TriState and Alliance pipeline projects (OGJ, Feb. 8, 1999, p. 40).

"(Guardian) provides excellent synergies with our proposed TriState pipeline from Joliet to Dawn, Ont., by linking our extensive gas storage assets in Michigan with potential storage customers in Wisconsin and Illinois," said CMS Energy Pres. and CEO William J. Haener.

The pipeline's partners will meet in the spring with various government officials and landowners to determine the route for the 147-mile, 36-in. line. The system will have about 24,000 hp of compression and is expected to cost $230 million. CMS will serve as lead construction partner, and an operator will be chosen once the line is on stream. Guardian is expected to start up Nov. 1, 2002. This date coincides with a firm supply agreement signed with Wisconsin Gas to ship up to 650 MMcfd. Guardian will have one compressor station north of Joliet, called Minooka.

Wisconsin Gas plans to build a 35-mile lateral from Watertown, at Guardian's terminus, to connect Guardian to its Milwaukee area markets. The completion date of this lateral corresponds with that of the Guardian system.