Columbia Pipeline Group announced that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved construction of its Smithfield III Expansion Project in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This project is a key feature of Columbia’s comprehensive West Side Expansion strategy to provide Marcellus and Utica producers with a pathway to southwestern market areas.

Specifically, the FERC approval will allow construction of the following core facilities:

• New Redd Farm Compressor Station- A new compressor station consisting of two 4,700 horsepower (HP) (ISO) Solar Centaur units near Columbia’s existing Redd Farm Regulating Station in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

• Enhanced Glenville Compressor Station - Installation of two new 7,800 HP (ISO) Solar Taurus 60 compressor units at Columbia’s existing Glenville CS located in Gilmer County, West Virginia.

The Smithfield project is part of Columbia’s effort to transform the west side of its Columbia Gas (TCO) and Columbia Gulf (CGT) transmission systems in response to supply growth in the Marcellus and Utica production areas. Completed earlier this year, the Columbia Gulf Bi-direction Project enables up to 540,000 dekatherms (dth) per day of gas to be transported from its interconnect point at Leach, Kentucky to Rayne, Louisiana on the CGT system. Once in service, the Smithfield III Project will enable firm transport capacity of 444,000 dth per day of TCO supplies from compression facilities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to Leach, Kentucky.
Columbia will begin construction on the Smithfield III facilities in the spring of 2014, in order to meet its targeted in-service date of November 2014.