Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG) is a major producer of

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

, connected to major supply basins in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

and production areas in the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

, western Oklahoma, western

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

. Originally an independent company, CIG is now a subsidiary of

El Paso Corp. El Paso Corporation was a provider of natural gas and related energy products and was one of North America's largest natural gas producers until its acquisition by Kinder Morgan in 2012. It was headquartered in Houston, Texas. United States. Pri ...

History

In 1927, three companies with the natural gas leases, the market and the money combined with the know-how, came together to form the Canadian River Gas Company, which produced the gas from the Panhandle Gas Field and piped it to

Clayton, New Mexico Clayton is a town and county seat of Union County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,980. History Early History Native Americans were present in the area of Clayton for at least 10,000 years, as evi ...

, where Colorado Interstate Gas Company purchased it and transported it to Denver. CIG began service on 1 June 1928 and gas first reached

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most popu ...

, on 19 June, and Denver on 22 June on a route established by John Paul (Mr. Mac) McClintock. In 1928, CIG has 428 miles of pipeline and 105 employees. CIG Dresser coupling

The original pipeline was 20-22 inches in diameter, five hundred miles long, trenched by ditching machines but some portions dug by hand, linked by Dresser coupling rather than welded, and limited to 50 psi. The Bivins Compressor Station, using three Worthington Corporation compressors of 1000 HP each, was the first soon followed by Clayton and Devine and the introduction of electric

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as br ...

. In 1938, CIG has 633 miles of pipeline and 145 employees. CIG Bivins Federal Credit Union

Corporate headquarters were in Colorado Springs and the company introduced a group life insurance program and a death benefit plan in the early 1930s, followed by a retirement income plan in 1939, a medical plan in 1940, and a credit union The Cimarron Station came on line in 1941, followed by the Apishipa Station in 1943. The McClintock Station was operational in 1944 followed by the East Denver and Lakin Stations in 1947, the latter connecting Denver to the

Hugoton Gas Field Hugoton Gas Field is a large natural gas field in the U.S. states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Its name is derived from the town of Hugoton, Kansas, near which the Hugoton Field was first discovered. History Natural gas in the Hugoton area w ...

. The company was using shortwave radio communication and airplane pipeline patrols by 1948. The Kit Carson Station was online by the end of the decade. In 1951, The Canadian River Gas Company merged with CIG, and the Fourway Station came online in 1952. The Springfield, Keyes, Sanford and Morton Compressor Stations came online in 1953. In 1957, the Mocane and Laverne stations came online. In 1958, CIG has 3470 miles of pipeline and 951 employees. In 1960, the company opened the Rawlins Compressor Station and introduced an employee Thrift Plan. CIG changes its name to CIC to reflect its four major businesses, Pipeline, Chemical (Wycon), Petroleum and Manufacturing (Marsh acquired in 1956, Metal Forge and DeZunk acquired in the early 70's). In 1972, CIG merged with

Coastal States Gas Corporation Coastal Corporation was a diversified energy and petroleum products company headquartered at 9 Greenway Plaza (Coastal Tower) in Greenway Plaza, Houston, Texas. The company was founded in 1955 by Oscar Wyatt and incorporated in 1955 as Coasta ...

. CIG's deepest wildcat, Johnson #1, drilled in the Texas Panhandle at 14,000 feet. In 1976, CIC changes its name back to CIG (Manufacturing division was sold to General Signal Corp. in 1972). In 1978, CIG has 5185 miles of pipeline and 1142 employees. Coastal merged with

in 1999, which was bought by

Kinder Morgan Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. The company specializes in owning and controlling oil and gas pipelines and terminals. Kinder Morgan owns an interest in or operates approximately ...

in 2012.

Presidents

1927-1933: Christy Payne 1933-1934: R.W. Gallagher 1934-1939: H.C. Cooper 1939-1943: F.H. Lerch Jr. 1943-1953: Robert W. Hendee 1954-1973: W.E. Mueller 1973-1976: Thomas L. Pelican 1977-: Peter J. King Jr.CIG The Gasser, January 1978, p. 13

Gallery

File:CIG 1928 1938.png, CIG operations 1928-1938 File:CIG 1938 1948.png, CIG operations 1938-1948 File:CIG 1948 1958.png, CIG operations 1948-1958 File:CIG 1958 1968.png, CIG operations 1958-1968 File:CIG 1968 1978.png, CIG operations 1968-1978 File:CIG helicopter.png, CIG started using

Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first h ...

helicopters in 1953 for chart readers access to and from the gas wells File:CIG Bivins Station Hotel.png, CIG Bivins Station Hotel File:CIG Worthington compressors.png, Three CIG Worthington Compressors, 1000 HP each

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Elpaso.com: Colorado Interstate Gas Co., LLC
— ''pipelline map''. Natural gas companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Colorado Companies based in Colorado Springs, Colorado Energy in Colorado Non-renewable resource companies established in 1928 Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1999 1928 establishments in Colorado 1999 disestablishments in Colorado