28400 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 31, 1995 / Notices

Southern requests Commission

approval of the application by no later

than May 1, 1996, so that the facilities

will be in service to provide the

additional firm transportation service by

November 1, 1996.

Comment date: June 14, 1995, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph F

at the end of this notice.

Standard Paragraphs

F. Any person desiring to be heard or

to make any protest with reference to

said application should on or before the

comment date, file with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission,

Washington, D.C. 20426, a motion to

intervene or a protest in accordance

with the requirements of the

Commission’s Rules of Practice and

Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)

and the Regulations under the Natural

Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10). All protests

filed with the Commission will be

considered by it in determining the

appropriate action to be taken but will

not serve to make the protestants parties

to the proceeding. Any person wishing

to become a party to a proceeding or to

participate as a party in any hearing

therein must file a motion to intervene

in accordance with the Commission’s

Rules.

Take further notice that, pursuant to

the authority contained in and subject to

the jurisdiction conferred upon the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

by Sections 7 and 15 of the Natural Gas

Act and the Commission’s Rules of

Practice and Procedure, a hearing will

be held without further notice before the

Commission or its designee on this

application if no motion to intervene is

filed within the time required herein, if

the Commission on its own review of

the matter finds that a grant of the

certificate and/or permission and

approval for the proposed abandonment

are required by the public convenience

and necessity. If a motion for leave to

intervene is timely filed, or if the

Commission on its own motion believes

that a formal hearing is required, further

notice of such hearing will be duly

given.

Under the procedure herein provided

for, unless otherwise advised, it will be

unnecessary for applicant to appear or

be represented at the hearing.

G. Any person or the Commission’s

staff may, within 45 days after issuance

of the instant notice by the Commission,

file pursuant to Rule 214 of the

Commission’s Procedural Rules (18 CFR

385.214) a motion to intervene or notice

of intervention and pursuant to Section

157.205 of the Regulations under the

Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.205) a

protest to the request. If no protest is

filed within the time allowed therefor,

the proposed activity shall be deemed to

be authorized effective the day after the

time allowed for filing a protest. If a

protest is filed and not withdrawn

within 30 days after the time allowed

for filing a protest, the instant request

shall be treated as an application for

authorization pursuant to Section 7 of

the Natural Gas Act.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–13227 Filed 5–30–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

[Docket No. CP95–500–000, et al.]

Southern Natural Gas Company, et al.;

Natural Gas Certificate Filings

May 23, 1995.

Take notice that the following filings

have been made with the Commission:

1. Southern Natural Gas Company

[Docket No. CP95–500–000]

Take notice that on May 15, 1995,

Southern Natural Gas Company

(Southern), Post Office Box 2563,

Birmingham, Alabama 35202–2563,

filed in Docket No. CP95–500–000 an

application pursuant to Section 7(c) of

the Natural Gas Act for a certificate of

public convenience and necessity

authorizing the construction,

installation and operation of certain

compression facilities and related

pipeline interconnection, measurement,

and appurtenant facilities, all as more

fully set forth in the application which

is on file with the Commission and open

to public inspection.

Southern states that the proposed

facilities will provide the capacity

needed to perform firm transportation

service on its pipeline system in its

production area south of its Franklinton

Compressor Station. It is stated that

Southern has an extensive supply

system in the offshore Louisiana area

and receives approximately 900,000 Mcf

per day (Mcdf) or nearly 60 percent of

its annual throughput from the ‘‘east

leg’’ of its South Louisiana supply

system that accesses the Main Pass,

Viosca Knoll and Mississippi Canyon

areas. Southern contends that its efforts

to connect new gas supplies in this area

and increase throughput have been

hampered recently as a result of

capacity constraints which exist at

Southern’s Toca Compressor Station. If

it is unable to increase its capacity to

move gas from the offshore areas,

Southern states that the markets and

customers served by Southern’s system

will not have the opportunity to gain

access to the significant number of new

sources of supply announced and under

development in this area.

Southern states that its recent gas

supply attachment efforts have been

focused on supply prospects which are

near Southern’s existing facilities. It is

stated that a large number of such

prospects are located in the offshore

Louisiana are upstream of Southern’s

Toca Compressor Station. Southern

states that its supply system in south

Louisiana has two separate main lines,

the ‘‘east Leg’’ which extends in to the

Main Pass area and the ‘‘west leg’’

which extends from the Franklinton

Compressor Station to the Shadyside

Compressor Station. It is stated that the

‘‘west leg’’ has traditionally received gas

from interconnections with other

interstate pipelines, and supply

prospects in the area are limited.

Therefore, Southern states that its ‘‘east

leg’’ upstream of the Toca Compressor

Station has experienced the most

activity in connecting new gas supplies.

It is stated that gas supply prospects in

this area are believed to be substantial.

Southern states that Exhibit Z to its

application contains a map and a list of

known prospects in the vicinity of

Southern’s existing facilities which

could be attached either through

jurisdictional pipeline extensions or

through nonjurisdictional gathering

lines to Southern’s system. While the

potential of many of these prospects is

still emerging, Southern believes that

the substantial financial expenditures

by producers and technological

advances in the development of

deepwater prospects ensure that the

expansion of Southern’s facilities to

provide access to downstream markets

from this supply area is necessary. It is

stated that the gas supply prospects

listed in Exhibit Z are estimated to

contain over 2 Tcf of reserves which

could be attached to Southern’s system.

Southern also believes that the location

of these prospects make them the most

economical gas supplies available to

Southern’s system in the near term and

foreseeable future. However, in order to

compete with other pipelines for these

shippers and customers, Southern states

that it must expand its existing capacity

at Toca to enable these supplies to flow

into downstream markets.

It is stated that prior to the recent

industry restructuring under Order No.

636, pipelines generally constructed gas

supply facilities and included the cost

of the facilities in future rate filings on

a rolled-in basis. In a post-636

environment, Southern states that the

issue of who should bear the financial

responsibility for this type of project is

more complicated. It is stated that this

expansion project is not a traditional
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 31, 1995 / Notices 28401

market area expansion. Southern states

that this expansion is an enhancement

of its current facilities to enable

Southern to transport an additional 140

MMcfd through its Toca Compressor

Station, which is currently operated at

or near full capacity. Southern contends

that it has determined that the gas

supply is available and has identified

the facilities modifications required to

relieve its system bottleneck at Toca.

According to Southern, the major

unresolved issue in the post-636

environment is which industry segment

should initially pay the cost of this type

of system enhancement. Southern states

that the distribution segment of the

industry believes that producers should

contribute to the cost of expanding

facilities in order to make their gas

supplies available to the market. It is

stated that producers have taken the

lead in constructing facilities to attach

gas supply to the existing pipeline

infrastructure but do not believe that

they should bear the additional cost of

expanding jurisdictional pipeline

capacity required to move new supplies

downstream. At the same time,

Southern argues that it would be unfair

to expect interstate pipelines to make

substantial investments in new facilities

without an opportunity to earn a

reasonable return on their investments.

To strike an appropriate balance,

Southern states that its proposal is an

effort to allocate among the stakeholders

the cost of this expansion project that

benefits the system as a whole. It is

stated that the cost sharing proposal

represents a reasonable sharing—

between the producers for the first 10

years and the transportation customers

thereafter—of the costs required to

expand Southern’s production area

capacity. By adding additional

compression at its Toca Compressor

Station, Southern states that it will

increase its capacity to transport gas

supplies through Toca by 140 MMcfd.

In addition, Southern submits that it

will require, as part of the transportation

agreement, a commitment from the

producers to attach 150 Bcf of new

reserves for every 50 MMcfd of

Transportation Demand, or

approximately 400 BCF of additional

reserves to Southern’s system. Based

upon extensive discussions with

producers that have prospects in the

areas near Southern’s supply system

and with Southern’s transportation

customers, Southern believes that an

expansion of its Toca Compressor

Station as proposed would benefit the

system as a whole and is in the public

interest.

It is stated that producers would

benefit from obtaining firm

transportation service in Southern’s

production area at a competitive rate.

With firm service to the

interconnections Southern has with

other interstate pipelines in this area,

Southern contends that the producers

will have assured access to a substantial

portion of the natural gas markets in the

eastern United States. It is stated that

they can elect to sell any of the new gas

supplies they connect to the Southern

system to markets served by the

Southern system, and in such case,

those gas supplies would likely be

transported under the purchaser’s firm

and/or interruptible transportation

service agreements.

Southern states that the requirement

that producers commit to attach new

reserves to the Southern system

provides a substantial benefit to

Southern’s firm and interruptible

transportation customers. It is stated

that they will have the opportunity to

compete for these new sources of supply

without incurring, under Southern’s

proposed rate treatment, any increase in

their transportation costs as a result of

the construction of the facilities for an

initial 10-year period. Whether these

new supplies are transported in the

production area under one of the new

10 year service agreements or to a

market on the Southern system,

Southern submits that the proposed

expansion of the Toca Compressor

Station will eliminate a capacity

constraint and enable an additional 140

MMcfd to flow into the Southern system

via the ‘‘east leg’’. It is stated that this

increase in the ‘‘east leg’’, however, will

not cause an increase in capacity on

Southern’s main line.

Southern requests that the

Commission act on its request in two

steps. First, Southern requests that the

Commission issue an initial

determination that the construction and

operation of the proposed facilities to

provide capacity necessary for the

performance of firm production area

transportation services on the terms and

conditions described in the application

are required by the present or future

public convenience and necessity.

Southern states that it is willing to

accept an at-risk condition in the initial

determination because its application

does not include the requisite showing

of market demand. Second, after it has

submitted executed Firm Transportation

Service Agreements for 100 percent of

the additional capacity containing the

terms and conditions described herein

and after completion of the

environmental review of the proposed

facilities, Southern requests that the

Commission issue an order adopting the

initial decision as its final action in this

proceeding and removing the at-risk

condition.

Comment date: June 13, 1995, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph F

at the end of this notice.

2. ANR Storage Company

[Docket No. CP95–504–000]

Take notice that on May 18, 1995,

ANR Storage Company (ANR), 500

Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan

48243, filed in Docket No. CP95–504–

000, pursuant to Section 7(b) of the

Natural Gas Act (NGA), as amended,

and §§ 157.7 and 157.18 of the

Commission’s Regulations thereunder,

an application requesting permission

and approval for abandonment of

storage service performed for United

Cities Gas Company (United Cities), all

as more fully set forth in the application

on file with the Commission.

ANR states that it is requesting

authorization for retroactive

abandonment of storage service that it

provides for United Cities under Rate

Schedule X–6 and contained in Original

Volume No. 2 of its FERC Gas Tariff.

This service was authorized in Docket

No. CP79–453–000. ANR requests the

abandonment of Rate Schedule X–6

effective April 1, 1995, the date of the

termination agreement between ANR

and United Cities. ANR further states

that at United Cities’ request,

commencing April 1, 1995, this service

would be provided under ANR’s FERC

Gas Tariff, Original Volume No. 1.

ANR states that no facilities are

proposed to be abandoned.

Comment date: June 13, 1995, in

accordance with Standard Paragraph F

at the end of this notice.

Standard Paragraphs

F. Any person desiring to be heard or

to make any protest with reference to

said application should on or before the

comment date, file with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission,

Washington, D.C. 20426, a motion to

intervene or a protest in accordance

with the requirements of the

Commission’s Rules of Practice and

Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)

and the Regulations under the Natural

Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10). All protests

filed with the Commission will be

considered by it in determining the

appropriate action to be taken but will

not serve to make the protestants parties

to the proceeding. Any person wishing

to become a party to a proceeding or to

participate as a party in any hearing

therein must file a motion to intervene

in accordance with the Commission’s

Rules.

Take further notice that, pursuant to

the authority contained in and subject to