Work on the Alberta Clipper crude oil pipeline project will begin in mid-August, say Enbridge Inc. officials. “We’ve got pipe coming in and yards are filling up, equipment is rolling in,” said Lorraine Grymala, Enbridge manager of community affairs/major projects, in a report issued by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. “We’re just waiting on a few remaining permits, and then we’ll set a firm kick-off date [in] August.” Alberta Clipper calls for the installation of 1,000 miles of 36-in. pipe from northern Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. Some 326 miles will be installed in the United States.
Running parallel to that will be another 20-in. pipeline called Southern Lights. Some 188 miles of that line will be constructed in 2009. Southern Lights is being built in segments, with the line now completed from Chicago to Superior. This year’s 188-mi segment will take it to the Canadian border. In all, Southern Lights is a $2.2-billion project with a capacity of 180,000 bpd.
The Alberta Clipper project’s 326 miles in the United States is a $1.2-billion project, Grymala said. “Up and down the line, for the 326-mi segment, we expect to employ about 3,000 workers,” she said. “We’re doing the construction in six spreads, and each spread has its own crew, which is 350 to 500 people per crew.” Two crews, or spreads, will operate out of Bemidji, Minnesota, for the two pipelines, she said. The contractor for the Bemidji area is U.S. Pipeline of Houston, Texas. The contractor north of Clearbrook is Michels of Brownsville, Wisconsin; and from Deer River to Superior is Precision Pipeline of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
El Paso gets partner for Ruby project
El Paso Corp. says that it has executed a binding agreement with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) whereby GIP will acquire a 50% interest in the Ruby Pipeline project. Under the terms of the agreement, GIP will invest up to $700 million in the project, which represents a 50% equity interest.
El Paso will be responsible for the construction of the Ruby Pipeline project and its operations. The Ruby Pipeline is on schedule and is expected to be completed at or below its $3-billion budget. Should construction costs come in under budget, El Paso will retain all benefits. Conversely, El Paso will absorb any cost overruns.
The Ruby Pipeline project calls for a 675-mi, 42-in. interstate natural gas pipeline that will access growing sources of supply from multiple Rockies basins and make those supplies available to California, Nevada and the Pacific Northwest region. Ruby has filed with the FERC to have an initial design capacity of up to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.
In January, El Paso filed an application with the FERC for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act, to construct and operate the Ruby Pipeline.
In June, FERC issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) which was consistent with Ruby’s construction plan and schedule. Ruby anticipates timely issuance of FERC’s Final Environmental Impact Statement in October.
Assuming FERC approval in the first quarter of 2010, construction would begin in the second quarter of 2010 with the pipeline completed in time for a March 2011 in-service date.
Nabucco project gets European support
The proposed Nabucco natural gas pipeline project cleared a hurdle in mid-July when four European governments signed a transit agreement with Turkey. Government representatives of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania joined Turkish officials in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, to sign the agreement for Nabucco, which would stretch 2,000 miles from the Caspian Sea to Austria through Turkey. But the project’s completion remained a distant goal, with no suppliers formally committed, according to a report in the New York Times.
The project has long been delayed, bogged down in disagreements between Turkey and Europe over terms and by maneuvers from Russia, which is pressing for a competing pipeline, South Stream. Most significantly, the pipeline has no committed suppliers, the most important element in getting the project moving. Analysts say that the agreement is just one small step forward.