El Paso Corp. on Thursday announced that it has placed its Ruby Pipeline in service. Ruby is a 680-mile, 42-inch interstate natural gas pipeline, providing transportation service from Opal, Wyoming, to interconnections near Malin, Oregon. Ruby is the first interstate natural gas pipeline to achieve carbon neutrality in its construction and operation.

"Ruby is across the finish line, completing more than three-and-a-half years of stakeholder outreach and construction," said Jim Cleary, president of El Paso's Western Pipelines. "During its construction, Ruby generated thousands of jobs and provided significant revenues for local communities as well as county and state governments. Going forward, it will continue to deliver long-term economic and environmental benefits, by providing clean-burning natural gas supplies from the major Rocky Mountain basins to consumers in California, Nevada, and the Pacific Northwest. Ruby is another demonstration of El Paso's commitment to build critical natural gas transportation infrastructure to meet the nation's energy needs."

El Paso expects that within the next 60 to 90 days, it will meet the requirements contained in Ruby's project financing agreements such that the approximately $1.5 billion of Ruby debt will become non-recourse to El Paso.

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) has invested $700 million in the Ruby project. Upon satisfaction of various closing conditions, GIP will increase its equity interest in the project to 50 percent.