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NORTHERN NATURAL GAS ANNOUNCES MAJOR SYSTEM EXPANSION OF 350 MMCF/D OVER FIVE YEAR PERIOD
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, October 14, 1996
HOUSTON -- Northern Natural Gas Company (NNG), a subsidiary of Enron Corp., announced today that it has filed an expansion project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) designed to increase peak day firm transportation service by approximately 350 MMcf/d between 1997 and 2001. The project, Peak Day 2000, is expected to increase contracted market area peak day firm entitlements by 10 percent and cost approximately $105 million.
The peak day entitlement increases by year are: 1997: 244 MMcf/d; 1998: 32 MMcf/d; 1999: 31 MMcf/d; 2000: 21 MMcf/d and 2001: 20 MMcf/d. The project is concentrated in NNG’s upper midwest markets in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Precedent agreements providing for long term contracts have been executed by the expansion participants which include local distribution companies, marketers and industrial end-users. The major expansion is in response to requests received during an open season held earlier this year. NNG will charge the tariff rates in effect at the time the expansion increments go into effect.
“Peak Day 2000 is a comprehensive five-year market project to accommodate the growth of the residential, commercial and industrial sectors in our market area,” said William R. Cordes, president of NNG. “This pro-active approach, in partnership with our shippers, takes advantage of economies of scale and system design optimization by focusing on several years of expansion in one plan rather than separate plans for expansions in 1997 and subsequent years. It also should allow Northern and its customers to plan for the future with a greater degree of certainty.”
The 1997 in-service target date is November 1, assuming timely regulatory approval. Remaining increments will be phased in annually on November 1 through the year 2001.
NNG is a 16,987-mile system extending from Texas to Michigan and the Canadian border with capacity to move 4.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas into the upper midwestern market.
Enron Corp., one of the world’s largest integrated natural gas and electricity companies with approximately $15 billion in assets, operates the largest natural gas transmission system in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest system in the world; is the largest purchaser and marketer of natural gas and the largest non-regulated marketer of electricity in North America; produces and markets natural gas liquids worldwide; owns 59 percent of Enron Oil & Gas Company, one of the largest independent (non-integrated) exploration and production companies in the United States; owns 59 percent of Enron Global Power & Pipelines L.L.C., which is owner and manager of operating power plants and natural gas pipelines around the world; and is one of the largest independent developers and producers of electricity in the world. Enron Corp. is traded under the ticker symbol, "ENE."
For additional information please contact:
Elaine Thomas
713-853-6814
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