UPDATE 2-Enterprise, Quicksilver join TransCanada project

(Adds details, comment. Changes dateline from Toronto)

By Scott Haggett

CALGARY, Alberta, May 12 (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday that Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Quicksilver Gas Services (KGS.P: Quote, Profile, Research) will take a stake in its planned Pathfinder natural gas pipeline from the U.S. Rockies, giving the project a head start on a rival proposal.

Under the agreement, Enterprise and Quicksilver would acquire up to a total of 50 percent of the project and commit to ship a total of 500 million cubic feet per day for a 10-year term, becoming the anchor shippers on the planned line.

TransCanada is backing the new line to carry natural gas from the fast-growing producing areas of the Rocky Mountain states to markets in Canada and the United States, joining other projects designed to accommodate the region's growing supply.

"TransCanada is very pleased to be working with Enterprise and Quicksilver Gas Services on the Pathfinder pipeline project," Hal Kvisle, TransCanada's chief executive, said in a statement. "Their commitment to the project is a significant milestone toward obtaining the necessary support for the project."

The planned 915-mile (1,465-km) line will carry 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Meeker, Colorado, and Wamsutter, Wyoming, to a connection at the Northern Border pipeline by 2010. A second phase will push the line as far as Emerson, Manitoba, where it will tie into TransCanada's massive mainline system.

The project is going head-to-head with the proposed 1.2 bcf Rockies Alliance line backed by Alliance Pipeline Inc, a joint venture of Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP (FCE_u.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), and midstream gas company Questar Corp (STR.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

An open season to gauge shipper interest in the Rockies Alliance plan is slated to start on Monday. The line would carry gas to the U.S. Midwest and could be expanded to handle 1.8 bcf.