Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) raised its gas pipeline transportation capacity out of the prolific Barnett Shale of North Texas to more than 3.5 Bcf/d with the completion of two projects: the 135-mile, 36-inch diameter Paris Loop pipeline and the 25-mile, 36-inch diameter Maypearl to Malone pipeline.

Paris Loop originates near Eagle Mountain Lake in northwest Tarrant County, TX, and connects to ETP’s Houston Pipe Line system near Paris, TX. It immediately provides customers with more than 400 MMcf/d of capacity out of the Barnett Shale and is expected to accommodate 900 MMcf/d by the end of the first quarter 2009.

The 36-inch Maypearl to Malone pipeline extends from ETP’s systems near Maypearl, TX, to its 42-inch diameter pipeline near Malone, TX. The expansion links an additional 600 MMcf/d of capacity out of the Barnett Shale to markets currently accessed by the ETP pipeline network.

Recently EOG Resources Inc. CEO Mark Papa said his company, which is focused on developing Johnson County, TX, acreage, is forecasting Barnett Shale output to peak in 2009 at around 5 Bcf/d and plateau the following two years. However, Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon, whose company targets Tarrant County, TX, including the city of Forth Worth, said he did not agree — he puts the peak at around 6 Bcf/d by 2012 (see NGI, Aug. 4). Devon Energy exploration chief Steve Hadden said last week he sees Barnett growth continuing for the foreseeable future (see related story).

Completion of the Paris Loop and Maypearl to Malone pipelines is a part of ETP’s overall expansion efforts. The partnership plans to bring on-line more than 700 miles of natural gas pipelines in 2008, with more than 500 miles of pipeline expected to be completed in Texas alone. Projects expected to come on-line later this year include the Southern Shale, Cleburne to Tolar, the Carthage Loop and the Katy Loop pipelines in Texas, and the Phoenix Expansion in Arizona.

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