(Source: Business Wire)
Inergy, L.P. (NASDAQ: NRGY) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Inergy Midstream, LLC ("Inergy"), has received indications of interest exceeding 400% of the capacity required to construct the 43-mile Marc I Hub Line and indications of interest exceeding 600% of the capacity required to construct the North-South Project. Together these projects when completed will allow shippers to wheel/transport gas bi-directionally through up to a 36-inch pipe on a firm basis approximately 75 miles between the Millennium Pipeline in Tioga County, N.Y., and Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Corporation's ("Transco") Leidy Line located in Columbia County, Pa., and all points in between.
"The response to the open season exceeds our expectations, and we could not be more excited about validating the strong commercial interest in these projects," said John Sherman, President and CEO of Inergy. "It is our objective to integrate Inergy's uniquely positioned gas storage and transportation platform to provide gas producers, marketers, and LDCs more flexibility and reliability in accessing the premium demand markets in the Northeast. We expect these projects to deliver solid economic returns and create visible cash earnings growth for our unitholders."
"The combination of these two projects provides critical infrastructure in the Northeast through our network of assets, which includes approximately 40 Bcf of gas storage and related pipeline interconnections," said Bill Moler, Senior Vice President of Inergy Midstream, LLC. "Our platform with the addition of these projects will allow market participants to meet supply and demand needs by connecting the three major northeast market pipes, Inergy's Stagecoach gas storage facility, and the prolific Marcellus Shale gas play in northeastern Pennsylvania."
The expected in-service date for the MARC I Hub Line and the North-South Project is in the fall of 2011.
Inergy is finalizing design and route selection, plans to structure long-term binding precedent agreements with each of the interested shippers, and expects to make all the required regulatory applications later this fall.
The Marc I Hub Line and the North-South projects combined with Inergy's previously announced 7.0 Bcf Thomas Corners natural gas storage development, the 5 million barrel Finger Lakes LPG storage development, which are expected to be operational in the Spring of 2010, and the 5 Bcf natural gas storage development opportunity at Inergy's US Salt plant in Watkins Glen, N.Y., provide visible organic growth opportunities for the next two years.
