The Central Region natural gas pipeline is composed of systems in Wyoming Gas Pipeline, Utah Gas Pipeline, South Dakota Gas Pipeline, North Dakota Gas Pipeline, Nebraska Gas Pipeline, Montana Gas Pipeline, Missouri Gas Pipeline, Kansas Gas Pipeline, Iowa Gas Pipeline, and Colorado Gas Pipeline. These systems are made up of a minimum of twelve intrastate companies and twenty interstate firms.
There are twelve interstate gas pipelines that come into the Central Natural Gas Pipeline approaching from the east and south. Another four deliver Canadian natural gas Pipeline imports from the northern border. It has been observed that the average utilization rate per shipper of Canadian natural gas generally surpasses those of shippers with domestic natural gas Pipeline supplies.
The oil and gas companies in the Central Natural Gas Pipeline have production rates that are higher than the Central Region consumption rate (consumption being equal to around 40% of the production rates) – this allows the Central Natural Gas Pipeline to become a natural gas net exporter.
At present, there are certain major Central Region metropolitan natural gas markets that are important destinations for the regional interstate pipeline map. Two of the biggest would be Salt Lake City in Utah Gas Pipeline (under the jurisdiction of Questar Pipeline Company), and Denver in Colorado (which is the Colorado Interstate Gas Pipeline Company’s territory.) The other markets covered by the this regional interstate pipeline system are those in St. Louis of Missouri (under the jurisdiction of Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Company, and Centerpoint Mississippi River Transmission Company); and in metropolitan Kansas City in both Missouri and Kansas (which is the territory of the Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company, KM Interstate Gas Transmission Company, and Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Company.)
Shipment of Natural Gas Pipeline Supplies To the Domestic Market
Some of the major gas pipelines operated by interstate companies within the Central Region reserve a lot of their deliverable capacity for customers beyond the Central Region’s borders. The Kern River Gas Transmission Company, for one, sends over 90% of shipped volumes of its southwest Wyoming daily 1.9 Bcf (billion cubic feet) optimal capacity to markets in Southern California and Nevada. Majority of the capacity is delivered into the US Western Region, with the Central Region being a minor consumer market only.
The Alliance Pipeline Company also maintains just two destinations on its US pipeline map which originates at the Saskatchewan/North Dakota border and terminates in the Joliet market of Illinois.
In addition, there are interstate gas pipeline maps (which start in the Oklahoma and West
Texas Southwest-Region panhandles) that serve the Central Region in a limited manner prior to delivering their natural gas supplies to Midwest markets. Such pipeline maps deliver their natural gas supplies northeast mainly via Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, Missouri before terminating at the Midwest natural gas market. The two biggest systems are maintained by the Pandhandle Eastern Transmission network and the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America.
On the other hand, the ANR Pipeline Company supplies more natural gas to the Central Region, particularly the Iowa market.
The Texas Eastern Transmission Company serves less than 15 destinations in its Central
Region pipeline map, since it traverses the lower southeastern parts of the Region only. The
Northern Natural Gas Pipeline Company serves mostly Nebraska and Iowa because it has over 225 delivery junctions along its pipeline map. The Northern Natural Gas Pipeline
Company can actually provide 1.6 Bcf daily natural gas supplies (originating from the
Southwest) into the Central Region but gets a lot of its natural gas supplies via interconnections with certain interstate pipeline systems located within the Central Region. It is a fact that the Northern Natural Gas Pipeline Company winds up with a daily capacity of over 2.2 Bcf once its system terminates in the Midwest Region of Illinois and Minnesota, after it has been sent through the Central Region.
Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Company currently operates the biggest State-to-State pipeline map based on Central Region natural gas capacity among regional interstate pipeline companies. This pipeline that originates at Kansas and ends in Missouri has 1.3 Bcf optimal capacities per day. But the average user rates for service lines such as this one, in this area, tend to be low (due mainly to seasonal service patterns.) Winter patterns are quite high, but low patterns in summer compensate for this. For example, the Kansas/Missouri line of Southern Star had an average utilization of just 21% approximately, for 2005.
The Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Company system has the Colorado natural gas
interconnections necessary for western Colorado producers to ship to the TransColorado Gas Transmission Company. This interconnection system moves south to enter the New Mexico market and terminate in California via pipeline maps owned by El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline Company and the Transwestern Gas Company.
Natural gas supplies originating from developing natural gas production areas in the
Unita/Piceance Basins within western Colorado and eastern Utah can now be sent east to eastern Colorado’s Cheyenne Hub. This became possible in 2006 after the TransColorado Gas Transmission Company was able to install reverse flow capacity on its pipeline map. From the Cheyenne Hub, transportation systems venturing to the Midwest market can be accessed.
The company is studying plans to assist San Juan Basin producers within southern Colorado to be able to deliver their natural gas supplies in 2008 to the Midwest markets. At present, these San Juan producers serve mainly the Western regional consumers.
One important LDC which operates in the western Central Region is the former Mountain Fuel Supply Company – now called Questar Gas Company – that delivers to Salt Lake City, Utah. This company is responsible for 99% of Utah-based interstate natural-gas pipeline maps. Intrastate Questar Gas Company sources its natural gas supplies from its affiliate
Questar Pipeline Company.
In the Colorado market, the Public Service Company of Colorado provides majority of the gas as this state has more end-users within one state than any other Central Region-based company. This company gets most of its gas supplies from the Colorado Interstate Gas Company.
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Energy Information Administration -Energy Information Administration -3/4/2008
