WILLIAMVILLE, N.Y., July 14 /CNW/ - National Fuel Gas Company ("National
Fuel" or "Company") (NYSE: NFG) today announced that its wholly owned
subsidiary, Empire State Pipeline ("Empire"), has revised the planned
in-service date for the proposed Empire Connector natural gas pipeline to
extend beyond November 1, 2007. Empire has aligned this project with the
timing of other, related, pipeline expansion projects, all of which are now
anticipating an in-service date beyond November 1, 2007 to November 1, 2008,
or sooner if feasible.
In a letter recently submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission ("FERC"), Empire, along with project sponsors of the related
pipeline expansion projects, emphasized their request that the FERC issue
their respective authorizations no later than November 1, 2006, given the
applicants' need to secure multiple permits for construction, acquire
line-pipe, compressors, related equipment and contractor construction
services, and complete the requisite pre-construction activities.
"We successfully launched this important project in 2004 and it is making
excellent progress, thanks primarily to the cooperation and assistance
received from landowners along the proposed Empire Connector route and various
permitting agencies," said Ronald Kraemer, Vice President of the Empire State
Pipeline. "We will continue to work with landowners and stakeholders along the
route as we move ahead with this project."(x) Construction of the pipeline could
start as soon as late summer 2007 in an attempt to minimize impacts in certain
areas of the pipeline route.(x)
National Fuel owns and operates the Empire State Pipeline, an existing
24-inch diameter natural gas transmission pipeline that originates at the
United States-Canada border at the Chippawa Channel of the Niagara River and
extends easterly 157 miles from Buffalo, N.Y. to near Syracuse, N.Y.
Developing the Empire Connector project involves constructing a pipeline
southward from this existing line near Rochester, N.Y. to connect with the
Millennium Pipeline near Corning, N.Y.(x) Empire will construct approximately 78
miles of 24-inch diameter pipeline and one compressor station that will
produce 20,620 horsepower.(x)
The pipeline extension will be designed to move 250 million cubic feet
(MMcf) of natural gas per day into the Millennium Pipeline and may provide
customers on Empire with access to a number of underground storage facilities
and local distribution companies' pipeline systems in New York state.(x)
Empire's customers will also have access to abundant and diverse gas supplies
at the Dawn hub through Empire's connection with the TransCanada PipeLine
system at Chippawa.(x) The $144 million project is designed to help New York and
the Northeast meet their increasing demand for energy.
"The energy industry and its customers continue to struggle with the
negative consequences associated with imbalances in the marketplace that
brings energy to consumers in the Northeast. Events last year and sustained
high energy prices demonstrate the need for new pipeline capacity to diversify
the options available for moving new gas supply to where it's consumed,"
Kraemer added.
KeySpan Energy Corp. (NYSE: KSE), the largest distributor of natural gas
in the Northeast, has subscribed for 150 MMcf of natural gas transportation
service per day on the Empire and Millennium Pipeline systems.(x) KeySpan, which
serves more than 2.5 million gas customers in the Northeast, is also New
York's largest investor-owned electric generator and operates the Long Island
Power Authority electric system serving 1.1 million customers.
National Fuel is an integrated energy company with $3.9 billion in assets
comprising the following five operating segments: Utility, Pipeline and
Storage, Exploration and Production, Energy Marketing, and Timber. Additional
information about National Fuel is available on its Web site,
www.nationalfuelgas.com, or through its investor information service at
1-800-334-2188. For more information about the Empire Connector, visit the
project's website at www.empireconnector.com.
Certain statements contained herein, including statements concerning
plans, objectives, goals, projections, strategies and future events or
performance, and statements which are designated with an asterisk ("(x)"), are
"forward-looking statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements. The Company's expectations, beliefs and
projections contained herein are expressed in good faith and are believed to
have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that such expectations,
beliefs or projections will result or be achieved or accomplished. In addition
to other factors, the following are important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements: changes in economic conditions, including economic disruptions
caused by terrorist activities, acts of war or major accidents; changes in
demographic patterns and weather conditions, including the occurrence of
severe weather, such as hurricanes; changes in the availability and/or price
of natural gas, oil and coal; inability to obtain new customers or retain
existing ones; significant changes in competitive factors affecting the
Company; governmental/regulatory actions, initiatives and proceedings,
including those involving the Empire Connector project, acquisitions,
financings, rate cases (which address, among other things, allowed rates of
return, rate design and retained gas), affiliate relationships, industry
structure, franchise renewal, and environmental/safety requirements;
unanticipated impacts of restructuring initiatives in the natural gas and
electric industries; significant changes from expectations in actual capital
expenditures and operating expenses, and unanticipated project delays or
changes in project costs or plans, including changes in the plans of the
sponsors of the proposed Millennium Pipeline with respect to that project; the
nature and projected profitability of pending and potential projects and other
investments; occurrences affecting the Company's ability to obtain funds from
operations, debt or equity to finance needed capital expenditures and other
investments, including any downgrades in the Company's credit ratings; changes
in the availability and/or price of derivative financial instruments; changes
in the price of natural gas or oil; significant changes in tax rates or
policies or in rates of inflation or interest; significant changes in the
Company's relationship with its employees and contractors and the potential
adverse effects if labor disputes, grievances or shortages were to occur;
changes in laws and regulations to which the Company is subject, including
tax, environmental, safety and employment laws and regulations; or the cost
and effects of legal and administrative claims against the Company. The
Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events.
