About
Empire Connector
Empire
State Pipeline and the Empire Connector Project
National Fuel - Experience
in pipeline operations
Why now?
Benefits
of natural gas
Benefits of the Empire
Connector
Empire
State Pipeline & the Empire Connector Project
The
Empire State Pipeline is a 157-mile natural gas
pipeline, running from near Buffalo to Syracuse.
Empire State Pipeline will be expanding the pipeline’s
route by about 77 miles through the Empire Connector
Project. Operating since 1993, the Empire State
Pipeline transports natural gas to major industrial
companies, utilities and power producers in western
and central New York. The companies supplied by
the Empire State Pipeline deliver energy to more
than 1 million customers in the region.
The
Federal Regulatory Energy Commission approved
the Empire Connector Project in December 2006.
Running from Victor, NY (near Rochester) to near
Corning, NY, the Empire Connector will link the
existing Buffalo-to-Syracuse Empire State Pipeline
to the Millennium pipeline project, the first
phase of which will run from Corning to Suffern,
NY. As part of the Empire Connector, one compressor
station will be built along the existing pipeline
in Oakfield, NY, in Genesee County to increase
its ability to deliver more gas across greater
distances along the pipeline route.
When
the Empire Connector and Millennium projects are
complete in late 2008, natural gas will flow from
increasingly important and substantial North American
supply basins to customers in New York and New
England – serving Central and Western New
Yorkers along the way.
PROJECT UPDATE |
| We are nearing completion of phase two of construction on the remaining 59 miles of the pipeline. Empire now anticipates that the pipeline’s in-service date will be in early December of 2008, not November 1, as previously stated. Once pipeline construction is complete, ongoing restoration and crop monitoring will be completed in 2009. |
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National
Fuel - Experience in pipeline operations
Empire State Pipeline is part of the National
Fuel Gas Company system. National Fuel Gas
Company has more than 100 years of experience
in supplying and transporting natural gas to residential
and commercial customers, as well as utilities
and power producers.
Headquartered in Williamsville,
NY, a suburb of Buffalo, the company has an excellent
reputation in the industry. From 2003 to 2004,
the company climbed more than 100 positions in
Fortune magazine’s list of the world’s
largest companies. National Fuel's more than $3.8
billion in diversified energy assets are distributed
among five business segments: Exploration and
Production, Pipeline and Storage, Utility, Energy
Marketing, and Timber.
Why
now?
There is universal agreement that New York and
New England’s energy needs are growing.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts
that demand for natural gas will rise by 3.6 percent
in 2007 alone.1 The Department of Energy estimates
that by 2025, the United States will use 37 percent
more natural gas.2
The
$177 million Empire Connector Project is a part
of this solution. It will provide the infrastructure
needed to meet growing demands. And it will increase
the supply of natural gas to this region and further
diversify the sources of natural gas – a
move that reduces supply risk and improves price
stability.
Benefits
of natural gas
Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel
available. Natural gas emits extremely low levels
of air pollution, reducing acid rain and the green
house effect. Natural gas is also in abundant
supply.
1
U.S.
Energy Information Administration. (June 2006).
Short-term energy outlook. Table 8a: U.S. Natural
Gas Supply and Demand: Base Case. Retrieved on
July 7, 2006 from http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/8atab.html.
2
Banerjee, N. (2004, Aug. 20). Natural gas
seems headed the way of oil: More demand, less
supply, higher cost. The New York Times. pp. C1,
C5
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