FERC Approves Kinder Morgan’s Gulf Coast Southbound Project Expansion

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 authorized Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC to advance its Gulf Coast Southbound Project, which is designed to provide an additional 300,000 dekatherms per day of firm transportation service for Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC’s liquefied natural gas facility in Texas.

The project involves the construction operation, and abandonment of compression facilities in Harrison, Victoria, and Wharton Counties, Texas. The company said that the new facilities are needed to meet the 300,000 Dth per day of transportation capacity contracted to its customer Corpus Christi Liquefaction.

The project will enable Natural Gas Pipeline to provide southbound transportation service on its Gulf Coast Line from a primary receipt point at the existing interconnection with Alliance Pipeline L.P. in Illinois to a delivery point at Natural’s interconnection with Cheniere Corpus Christi Pipeline LP Texas.

In addition to the firm transportation capacity subscribed by Corpus Christi Liquefaction, the new compressor units would create 28,000 Dth per day of incremental firm transportation capacity on Natural Gas Pipeline’s system.

Commissioner Glick dissented in part saying that the decision refuses to consider whether the project’s contribution to climate change would be significant, even though it quantifies the emissions from the project’s construction and operation.

Natural Gas Pipeline Company is a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan.