According to Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the project will connect to ETP’s dual 42-inch pipeline system near Carthage, Texas, extend through the middle of the Haynesville Shale and end near Delhi, Louisiana; with interconnects to at least seven interstate pipelines at various points in Louisiana.

The Tiger Pipeline is anticipated to have an initial throughput capacity of at least 1.25 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day, which may be increased up to 2bcf per day based on the results of an open season. The agreement with Chesapeake provides for a 15-year commitment for firm transportation capacity of approximately 1bcf per day, said the company.

The pipeline project is anticipated to cost between $1 billion and $1.2 billion to construct, depending upon the final throughput capacity design, with such costs to be incurred over a three-year period. Pending necessary regulatory approvals, Tiger Pipeline is expected to be in service by mid-2011.

Mackie McCrea, president and COO of ETP, said: “ETP continues to implement its plan to provide pipeline capacity through basins across the country. Critical infrastructure is needed to relieve growing constraints near the Carthage Hub and to provide takeaway capacity from the Haynesville Shale.”

Energy Transfer Partners is a publicly traded partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of energy assets. The company has pipeline operations in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Utah, and claims to own the largest intrastate pipeline system in Texas.