Pipeline development in the land of the free
BJ Lowe, Clarion, Houston, USA and Lyndsie Mewett, Associate Editor
Pipelines International — December 2009
The United States of America boasts well established oil and natural gas pipeline systems, which are continuing to grow with the proposal and construction of more pipelines across the country. Pipelines International takes a look at some of the major projects in the pipeline.
Northeast region
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGPC), a subsidiary of El Paso Corporation, plans to increase the capacity of its 300Line to transport new natural gas supplies to serve the growing demand in the northeastern US.
The 300 Line Expansion Project involves the installation of seven looping segments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey totalling approximately 205 km of 30inch pipeline, the installation of two new compressor stations to be located in northwestern Pennsylvania, and upgrades at seven existing compressor stations.
Upon completion, TGPC expects that the project will increase natural gas delivery capacity in the region by approximately 3.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). The project is planned to be in service by November 2011.
Spectra Energy has proposed the HubLine/East to West Expansion Project, which will be an expansion of the company’s Algonquin Pipeline System. The 1,800 km Algonquin Natural Gas Transmission System, located in New England, transports 2.2 Bcf/d of gas. The pipeline connects to the Texas Eastern Transmission System and the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline.
The expansion project will involve a total of 74 km of multi-diameter pipeline and associated support facilities. Of this, 20 km of new pipeline will be located in Massachusetts with 53 km of upgrades to existing pipeline in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The project is expected to be completed in November 2010.
Dominion Transmission, Dominion Resources’ natural gas transmission and storage subsidiary, is proposing the Appalachian Gateway Project to meet demand for natural gas in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern US.
The project includes the construction of approximately 177 km of pipeline between 20 and 30 inches in diameter to run between West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as four new gas compressor stations. Construction is expected to start in 2011, with transportation services to begin by September 2012.
The pipeline will deliver natural gas to Spectra Energy’s 14,000 km Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline System at Dominion’s Oakford Station in Delmont, Pennsylvania. The Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline connects Texas and the Gulf Coast with markets in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern US. The 6.7 Bcf/d capacity pipeline connects the Algonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline with Spectra Energy’s 430 km East Tennessee Natural Gas Pipeline.
Southeast region
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Energy Transfer Partners began service on the Midcontinent Express Pipeline (MEP) in August this year. The MEP consists of a single pipeline originating near the town of Bennington in Bryan County, Oklahoma, and terminating with an interconnection into the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline at Transco’s compressor station near the town of Butler in Choctaw County, Alabama.
The pipeline is comprised of approximately 48 km of 30 inch pipe, 442 km of 42 inch pipe and 317 km of 36 inch pipe. The MEP also has two compressor stations. One station is located near Paris in Lamar County, Texas, and the other near Perryville in Union Parish, Louisiana.
The original capacity of the pipeline is being expanded through the addition of incremental compression. When completed in 2010, MEP will have capacity of 1.8 Bcf/d in Zone 1 and 1.2 Bcf/d in Zone 2.
Florida Gas Transmission is proposing to expand its natural gas pipeline system to meet the growing energy needs of the Gulf Coast and Florida. The company operates an 8,046 km pipeline system, which has the capacity to deliver 2.3 Bcf/d of natural gas to the Florida peninsula.
The Phase VIII Expansion Project will consist of approximately 777 km of multi-diameter pipeline in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, with approximately 587 km built parallel to existing pipelines. One new compressor station will be built in Highlands County, Florida. The project will provide an annual average of 798 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of additional firm transportation capacity. The project is expected to be completed and in service in 2011.
In 2007, El Paso Corporation placed Phase 1 of its Cypress Pipeline project into service. The pipeline is an expansion of the Southern Natural Gas (SNG) Pipeline, and provides an incremental 220 MMcf/d of takeaway capacity from the company’s LNG facility near Savannah, Georgia. The 268 km pipeline extends the SNG system to interconnect with the Florida Gas Transmission system near Jacksonville, Florida.
Phase 2 of the project was placed into service in 2008. During this phase. compression facilities were installed to add an additional 116 MMcf/d of capacity to the pipeline. Phase 3 of the project, which is scheduled to be in-service by 2010, will add an incremental 164 MMcf/d through additional compression.
ETC Tiger Pipeline Company is proposing to construct an interstate natural gas pipeline to provide takeaway capacity from the East Texas Carthage Hub area and the Haynesville Shale play. The 289 km, 42inch diameter Tiger Pipeline will begin near Carthage, Texas, and extend to the Perryville, Louisiana area.
The project will have a capacity of 2 Bcf/d and is expected to begin operation in the first half of 2011. Four compressor stations have been planned for the pipeline.
The majority of the pipeline is to be constructed within the right-of-way of the existing 276 km CenterPoint Carthage to Perryville Pipeline and Gulf South’s 389 km East Texas to Mississippi Pipeline.
Enbridge has conducted an open season for the proposed 523 km interstate LaCrosse Pipeline, which would run from the Carthage Hub in Texas to an interconnection with the SNG Pipeline in Washington Parish, Louisiana. The pipeline will be designed to provide an outlet for increasing supplies coming out of the Haynesville shale region. The pipeline is scheduled for completion in 2013.
Midwest region
Enbridge has recently completed construction on the Alberta Clipper Pipeline to transport oil between Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, and Superior, Wisconsin. This 1,607 km , 36 inch diameter pipeline is expected to be in service by mid-2010, complementing the recently completed Southern Access Project as crude oil supplies from Western Canada continue to increase. Initial capacity will be 450,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), with an ultimate capacity of up to 800,000 bbl/d.
Enbridge is expected to complete construction of its Southern Lights Project by the end of 2009. The project will transport oil from Canada to markets in the US Midwest. It involves the construction of new pipeline and the use of some segments of existing pipeline on which the flow direction has been reversed. The 20 inch diameter pipeline was constructed at the same time as and along the Alberta Clipper line.
Enbridge is progressing the Southern Access Extension project. The project extends the company’s Lakehead System from the Flanagan Terminal near Pontiac, Illinois, south to a petroleum transportation hub in Patoka, Illinois.
Stage 1 began operations in 2008 and included 516 km of new pipeline along the Lakehead System in Wisconsin and the construction of additional pump stations. Stage 2 involved the construction of approximately 214 km of pipeline from Enbridge’s Delavan pumping station near Whitewater, Wisconsin, to the Flanagan terminal. This stage began operation earlier this year.
Stage 3 will see the system extend from the Flanagan, Illinois, to Patoka, Illinois. The cities are approximately 400 km apart. The pipeline system will be constructed in 2010 and begin operation later that year or by early 2011.
The 5,600 km Lakehead System was constructed in 1949 and is the world’s largest crude oil and liquids pipeline system, bringing crude oil from Western Canada to the US.
Vector Pipeline and Vector Pipeline Partnerships have launched a binding open season to secure shipper interest in a third expansion of the 550 km Vector Pipelines System, which transports natural gas between Joliet, Illinois, and the storage complex at Dawn, Ontario, Canada.
The additional expansion proposes to add long-haul capacity of up to 115MMcf/d by adding two new compressors and upgrades to the US portion of the system. The expansion could also include incremental short-haul capacity by adding a loop to the US and/or Canadian portion of the pipeline system. The project is expected to be complete by November 2011.
The Vector Pipeline System, constructed in 2000, has already undergone two expansion projects. The first involved the installation of compressor stations at Joliet, Illinois, and Washington, Michigan. The second expansion was completed in October 2009 and involved the construction of a compressor station at Athens, Michigan, increasing the nominal capacity of the pipeline from 1.2 Bcf/d to approximately 1.3 Bcf/d.
Southwest region
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Energy Transfer Partners’ 298 km Fayetteville Express Pipeline has been proposed to run from Conway County Arkansas, via White County, to an interconnect on the 5,632 km Trunkline Pipeline, located in Panola County, Mississippi.
Willbros Group has been awarded a contract to construct spreads three and four of the pipeline, which includes laying 193km of 42 inch diameter pipeline to parallel existing utility corridors in the region, beginning near Bald Knob, Arkansas, and ending at the Trunkline Gas Company interconnection. Spreads one and two of the pipeline are yet to be awarded.
Construction of the pipeline is expected to commence in March 2010 with the pipeline to be in service by January 2011.
In addition, Kinder Morgan and Copano Energy have entered into a letter of intent to construct, as a first phase, an approximately 35 km, 24 inch natural gas gathering pipeline. The natural gas pipeline will originate in LaSalle County and terminate in Duval County, Texas, and will have an initial capacity of 350 MMcf/d. The pipeline is expected to be completed in mid-2010.
Enterprise Products Partners and Duncan Energy Partners are planning to increase the capacity of the recently announced Haynesville Extension Project from 1.4–2.1 Bcf/d. As a result, Enterprise and Duncan Energy placed an order increasing the size of the 249 km pipeline extension of their jointly-owned Acadian Gas intrastate pipeline into Northwest Louisiana to 42 inches in diameter.
The project is expected to be complete by September 2011. The Haynesville Extension will intersect with nine interstate pipeline systems.
Central region
The Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) runs from the Meeker Hub in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, to Audrain County, Missouri, and Warren County, Ohio. The 531 km section from Meeker to the Cheyenne Hub was placed in service in February 2007. The completion of REX-West in May 2008, added 1,147 km of 42 inch diameter pipeline, which runs from the Cheyenne Hub in Weld County, Colorado, to Audrain County, Missouri.
The 1,027 km REX-East Pipeline section completed commissioning in November this year. REX-East is the final segment of the REX Pipeline, and runs from Audrain County, Missouri, to the Lebanon Hub in Warren County, Ohio.
Following the completion of REX-East, the pipeline has a capacity of 1.8 Bcf/d of gas.
The pipeline is a joint venture between Kinder Morgan Partners, Sempra Pipelines and Storage, and ConocoPhillips.
TransCanada is currently constructing the 3,456 km Keystone Pipeline project, which combines both the new construction of pipeline and the conversion of an existing pipeline from natural gas to oil service.
Approximately 2,219 km of new pipeline is to be constructed in the US. The Canadian portion of the project includes the construction of approximately 373km of new pipeline and the conversion of approximately 864 km of existing TransCanada pipeline from natural gas to crude oil transmission. It is expected that the project will be complete by 2012.
In addition, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement for TransCanada’s proposed Bison Pipeline.
The project includes approximately 486 km of 30 inch diameter natural gas transmission pipeline extending northeast from Wyoming through Montana to North Dakota. TransCanada has also proposed one compressor station at Hettinger County, North Dakota.
The pipeline is designed to have a capacity of approximately 477 MMcf/d of gas, but will be expandable to 1Bcf/d. TransCanada has said that future development plans for the pipeline include the expansion and extension of the Bison Pipeline into the Rockies Basin.
Construction is expected to begin on the pipeline in 2010, with the pipeline to be operational in November of that year.
Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG), a subsidiary of El Paso, is building the Raton Expansion Project to serve increasing demands for Rocky Mountain natural gas supplies. The Raton Expansion Project involves the installation of approximately 188 km of 16 inch pipeline in Las Animas, Huerfano, Pueblo and El Paso counties, Colorado.
The Raton 2010 Expansion Project will start in southern Las Animas County and will terminate in southern El Paso County at an interconnection with CIG’s pipeline system. This expansion will enable gas to be transported to CIG’s mainline for ultimate delivery to the Cheyenne Hub in northern Colorado for delivery to major national markets.
CIG had hoped to receive FERC authorisation for the project by October 2009, with a proposed in-service date in May 2010. The authorisation is still pending.
Enbridge has proposed the North Dakota System Expansion Phase 6 project to bring its North Dakota System expansion to 161,000 bbl/d of oil by early 2010. The expansion will involve upgrades to existing pump station sites.
The North Dakota System consists of 531 km of crude oil gathering and 998km of interstate transmission pipeline. It delivers oil from North Dakota and Motana to Minnesota, where it connects with the Lakehead System and the third party Minnesota Pipeline.
Alliance Pipeline and Questar Overthrust Pipeline Company have jointly proposed the 1,738 km, 42 inch diameter Rockies Alliance Pipeline (RAP) to connect the Rocky Mountain Region to the Chicago market hub.
The project will take advantage of existing Overthrust and Alliance infrastructure. The companies are currently undergoing a second open season to evaluate the potential gas capacity expansion of the pipeline.
The pipeline will originate from Wamsutter, Wyoming, where Questar’s Overthrust Pipeline will be expanded from the Opal and Meeker receipt hubs to meet the need for additional capacity. During an open season, Questar Overthrust Pipeline received interest for approximately 1 Bcf/d of new pipeline capacity for delivery into RAP.
Upon in-service of the proposed project, RAP will initially provide 1.3 Bcf/d of transportation capacity. The pipeline is expected to be commence construction in
2012 and completed by 2013.
Questar’s Overthrust Pipeline is a 270 km, 36 inch diameter pipeline, located in southwestern Wyoming. The 141 km pipeline section from Whitney Canyon to Kanda comprises the western-most segment of the 701 km Trailbalzer Pipeline system. The 128 km section from Kanda to Wamsutter, completed in 2007, makes up the western segment of the REX Pipeline.
The Questar Overthrust Pipeline expansion would run west from a compressor station near Rock Springs to Black Fork, Wyoming, and parallel an existing Questar pipeline that runs from Wamsutter to Blacks Fork and on to Opal.
The 69 km, 36 inch diameter pipeline would cost approximately $US94.3 million to construct and have a capacity of 800 MMcf/d of gas. The pipeline is expected to tie into El Paso Corporation’s proposed Ruby Pipeline.
The Ruby Pipeline will connect natural gas reserves in the Rocky Mountain region with markets the western US. The project will involve approximately 1,086km of 42 inch diameter pipeline beginning at the Opal Hub in Wyoming and terminating at interconnects near Malin, Oregon.
The project will have an initial design capacity of up to 1.5 Bcf/d of gas and four compressor stations will be constructed: one near the Opal Hub in southwestern Wyoming; one south of Curlew Junction, Utah; one at the mid-point of the project, north of Elko, Nevada; and, one in northwestern Nevada.
Western region
Williams’ subsidiary Northwest Pipeline has proposed to construct the 30 inch diameter, 192 km Blue Bridge Pipeline project.
The project involves six pipeline loops running parallel to Northwest’s existing 26 inch mainline along the Columbia River Gorge, Washington. Construction is set to begin in the first half of 2012, and commercial service to launch in the second half of 2012.
The proposed Palomar Gas Transmission Pipeline is a new interstate natural gas pipeline that will provide additional energy infrastructure to serve Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and other western states. Palomar is a joint venture between TransCanada and NW Natural.
The 36 inch diameter pipeline will be approximately 354 km long. The proposed Palomar project is seeking a certificate from the FERC for permission to construct and operate the pipeline.
Subsidiaries of Williams, PG&E Corporation and Fort Chicago Energy Partners, have agreed to jointly pursue construction of a LNG import terminal (Jordan Cove LNG), to be located in Coos Country, Oregon, and a interstate natural gas transmission system (Pacific Connector). This project will increase the supply of natural gas for the Pacific Northwest, northern California and northern Nevada.
The Pacific Connector Pipeline project is a 370 km, 36 inch diameter pipeline designed to transport up to 1 Bcf/d of natural gas from the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal to markets in the region. The Pacific Connector project includes interconnects to Williams’ 6,276 km Northwest Pipeline, the 386 km Tuscarora Gas Transmission system, and Gas Transmission Northwest’s system, all located in Oregon.
Alaskan proposals
There are currently two competing large diameter pipeline projects proposed that would link Alaska’s North Slope gas reserves to markets in Canada and the US.
The proposed Denali Pipeline project consists of a gas treatment plant on the North Slope, an approximately 3,219 km long pipeline to Alberta, Canada, and if required, a 2,414km long pipeline from Alberta to Chicago at a current estimated cost of $US30 billion.
The proposed TransCanada Alaska Pipeline project would include a gas treatment plant to be built at Prudhoe Bay, a 2,736 km long pipeline from North Slope Alaska through Yukon and northeastern British Columbia to the British Columbia/Alberta border near Boundary Lake, and would include new and existing infrastructure in Alberta.
The pipeline projects require a certificate of public convenience and necessity to be granted by the FERC in order to commence construction and operation activities.
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