Texas Business reports:  HOUSTON—Spectra Energy Corp received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to proceed with construction on the New Jersey-New York Expansion Project, a 20-mile expansion of the company's Texas Eastern Transmission and Algonquin Gas Transmission interstate pipeline systems.

Once completed, the New Jersey-New York Expansion Project will provide an additional 800 million cubic feet per day of natural gas capacity into the New Jersey/New York region.

“The comprehensive, multi-year review by numerous federal, state and local agencies has culminated with the formal approval by FERC to commence construction of the New Jersey-New York Expansion Project,” said Spectra Energy chief executive Greg Ebel in a prepared statement. “We will continue to cooperate with the communities and appropriate regulatory agencies as we complete work on a project that will provide critically-needed pipeline infrastructure, as well as significant environmental and economic benefits to the region.”

FERC issued the notice after a review of the NJ-NY Expansion Project's Implementation Plan, which details how the construction work will proceed and satisfy all pre-construction conditions. Throughout construction, federal and state agencies, independent inspectors, and company personnel will maintain a rigorous inspection schedule.

The planning and construction phases of the project is projected to create more than 5,200 direct and indirect jobs in and around local host communities, officials said. Construction will begin in the coming weeks and be completed during the fourth quarter of 2013.

Increasing the region's access to diverse and reliable supplies will alleviate seasonal natural gas volatility, resulting in an estimated $700 million of total annual energy savings in New Jersey and New York, officials said.

The project will also is projected to bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue and improve the region's air quality by eliminating an estimated 6 million tons per year of carbon dioxide -- the equivalent of taking more than 1 million cars off the road.

Based in Houston, Spectra Energy’s operations in the United States and Canada include more than 19,000 miles of transmission pipeline, approximately 305 billion cubic feet of storage, as well as natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids and local distribution operations. The company also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, one of the largest natural gas gatherers and processors in the United States.