Big news flooded the midstream construction market at year end with many projects targeting take-away solutions throughout the U.S. and beyond. The announcements come as Canadian production soars and Mexico’s consumption grows, turning the midstream tide in both directions.
To that end, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and its El Paso Natural Gas Co. LLC unit, along with TransCanada Corp., shifted their attention south of the U.S. border. El Paso and Kinder Morgan have entered into a 25-year transportation agreement to build the 60-mile Sasabe Lateral pipeline designed to bring U.S. natural gas to the Mexican market. According to Kinder Morgan, Sasabe Pipeline Co. will provide 200 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day of firm pipeline-transportation capacity through the new pipeline, which will extend from El Paso’s existing south mainlines near Tucson, Arizona, to Sasabe, Arizona, and then interconnect with the Sasabe Lateral. Construction is expected to begin on the approximately $200-million project in the first quarter of 2014, with an anticipated in-service date of September 2014.
TransCanada also announced that its subsidiary, Transportadora de Gas Natural del Noroeste, will build, own and operate the Topolobampo pipeline project. According to TransCanada, the project, which is supported by a 25-year natural gas transportation service contract with Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad, will begin at El Encino, in the state of Chihuahua, and terminate at Topolobampo, in the state of Sinaloa. (See a related story in In the Pipeline column.)
In Canada, Enbridge Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Enbridge Pipelines Inc., will embark on a $1.8 billion expansion of the Edmonton-to-Hardisty, Alberta, mainline system. According to the company, the expansion, will have an initial capacity of 570,000 barrels (bbl.) per day with a potential of up to 800,000 bbl. per day. The project will also provide additional tankage and terminal facilities at both Edmonton and Hardisty. A target in service date has been set for mid-2015
Recommended Reading
Defeating the ‘Four Horsemen’ of Flow Assurance
2024-04-18 - Service companies combine processes and techniques to mitigate the impact of paraffin, asphaltenes, hydrates and scale on production—and keep the cash flowing.
Going with the Flow: Universities, Operators Team on Flow Assurance Research
2024-03-05 - From Icy Waterfloods to Gas Lift Slugs, operators and researchers at Texas Tech University and the Colorado School of Mines are finding ways to optimize flow assurance, reduce costs and improve wells.