LIVONIA, Mich., Sept. 12, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Vector Pipeline L.P. today announced that it will request permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand its mainline natural gas transmission pipeline for the second time in two years.
"While wrapping up our 2007 expansion, we were pleased to find robust interest in additional expansion clearly reflected by long-term agreements in our recent binding Open Season," said Vector Pipeline President Craig R. Fishbeck. "This strong market demand encouraged us to draft plans to build one more compressor station and expand the Vector Pipeline by approximately 100 MMcf/d, with a proposed in-service date of Nov. 1, 2009. Adding another station will bring our system from its 2007 expanded capacity of about 1.2 Bcf/d up to 1.3 Bcf/d in 2009. As market interest continues to grow in the future, Vector still has the potential to increase capacity even further using economical compression expansion."
Preliminary engineering and environmental work is underway at the site location, Fishbeck said. Vector plans to initiate the expansion filing process this fall with FERC, he added.
The Vector Pipeline -- constructed in 2000 and currently expanding with two new compressor stations -- includes 348 miles of mainline transmission between the Chicago Hub and the storage complex at Dawn, Ontario. Vector Pipeline L.P.'s system begins in Joliet, Ill., and terminates at the international border at St. Clair, Mich., where it interconnects with the Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership system, which provides service to the Dawn, Ontario, storage facilities. The system has multiple interconnections, including Alliance, Northern Border, Guardian, ANR, NIPSCO, Crossroads, Consumers Energy, MichCon, DTE Washington 10 Storage, Bluewater Gas Storage and Union Gas. Three power plants also are tied into the Vector system: Crete Energy Ventures, Kinder Morgan-Jackson and Greenfield Energy Centre.
Vector Pipeline L.P. is a joint venture between Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSX:ENB), with a 60 percent interest, and Detroit-based DTE Energy Company (NYSE:DTE), with a 40 percent interest. Information about Vector is available on the web at www.vector-pipeline.com. Information about Enbridge and DTE Energy is available at www.enbridge.com and www.dteenergy.com respectively.