Rockies Express gas line says East segment delayed

NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Full service on the 683-mile (1,099 km) eastern portion of the huge Rockies Express natural gas pipeline will be delayed by about five months until November 2009, a company website said.

"Rockies Express has ... experienced delays in securing permits and regulatory approvals for construction activity across REX East in addition to weather-related delays," a company website posting said Tuesday.

An initial interim service date is now projected for April 1, 2009, encompassing deliveries to several points in Illinois and Indiana.

Service to Lebanon, Ohio is expected to begin June 15, 2009, with full in-service to Clarington, Ohio Nov. 1.

The posting added that because of the magnitude of the project, projected in-service dates could change again.

The huge 1,678-mile, $4.4 billion Rockies Express pipeline is one of the largest gas pipelines in North America. When completed, it will deliver about 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of gas from Rio Blanco County, Colorado to Monroe County, Ohio.

The pipeline is a joint venture of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP.N), Sempra Energy (SRE.N) unit Sempra Pipelines and Storage, and ConocoPhillips (COP.N). (Reporting by Eileen Moustakis; Editing by Marguerita Choy)