
The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. made a filing with the FERC proposing to transform one of its existing lean gas lines into effectively a gathering line to move wet gas from gas fields within the Utica Shale play to to-be-constructed processing facilities and then to market. As Tennessee states in its filing, it wishes to take advantage of the emerging market for rich gas transportation and processing arising from the natural gas produced from the Utica Shale play located near the middle of its pipeline system in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia.
FERC has noticed the filing in Docket No. RP13-464-000. A substantial number of Tennessee’s pipeline customers have intervened and objected to Tennessee’s proposal, viewing this as adversely impacting the quality of their existing service with no real benefits to them. It is likely that a Technical Conference will be held at FERC in the near future to address these concerns.