An Arkansas natural gas company is measuring interest from users to build a pipeline into Tennessee that would link to existing pipelines in Dyer County.

Ozark Gas Transmission, headquartered in Fort Smith, Ark., on April 25 began an "open season" to gauge customer needs for the pipeline expansion.

The 36-inch pipeline is proposed to branch from Ozark's current line, near Searcy in White County, Ark., about 160 miles to Dyer County. Ozark proposes to receive and deliver volumes of up to 700,000 dekatherms per day to customers. A dekatherm is the approximate energy content of 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas and used to measure transmission volume, not end-user amounts.

Options include connecting the pipeline to the Trunkline Gas Co. plant near the Bonicord community southeast of Dyersburg; or the Texas Gas Transmission plant.

If Ozark finds the project worthy, the pipeline could be ready for service by November 2010.

Interested parties have until May 15 to file their support with Ozark.

The gas in the proposed pipeline would come from established shale operations in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

"Tenark will present Fayetteville Shale natural gas producers, who have rapidly growing natural gas supplies, with a new pipeline outlet providing market diversity and competitive netbacks. Tenark will be an alternate path to major pipeline interconnects with available downstream capacity to northern markets," said Ozark president Steven R. Winston.

The pipeline is the latest energy move into Dyer County since a Lousiana firm in March leased 5,500 acres in the western and northern parts of the county for shale oil and natural gas exploration.