Pipelines

A pair of approvals by FERC last week, as well as plans announced by GDF SUEZ Mexico, could help extend the reach of natural gas pipelines — and the market for gas produced in the United States — in Mexico.

Koch Pipeline Co. LP is holding a nonbinding open season for the Dakota Express Pipeline, which would carry crude oil from the Bakken Shale in western North Dakota to Hartford and Patoka, IL. A connection at Patoka to the Eastern Gulf Crude Access Pipeline to carry crude to Gulf Coast refineries is also contemplated.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) said it will invest $107 million to expand its Kinder Morgan Crude and Condensate pipeline system (KMCC) deeper into the Eagle Ford Shale play in Karnes County, TX. The expansion, supported by a long-term contract with ConocoPhillips, will extend the 178-mile pipeline 31 miles from the KMCC DeWitt Station in DeWitt County, TX, to ConocoPhillips’ central delivery facility near Helena in Karnes County. Kinder Morgan will also build receipt tanks and a truck unloading facility adjacent to ConocoPhillips’ Helena facility. Construction is expected to begin in July. “This expansion further assists our commitment to deliver up to 300,000 b/d of crude and condensate from the Eagle Ford Shale,” said KMP products pipelines President Ron McClain.

Despite the shale revolution in North America transforming global energy dynamics, the United States is unlikely to disengage completely from the Persian Gulf because other nations still depend on the region and it will still affect the world’s oil prices, according to a draft report presented to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Industry experts said they were disappointed by the Utica Shale oil production figures for 2012 released Thursday by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), but they believe a clearer picture is beginning to emerge of where the play’s sweet spots for oil are located.

Houston’s TC PipeLines LP late Wednesday increased its natural gas partnership by one-third in a $1.05 billion agreement with parent TransCanada Corp. that would give it control over both Gas Transmission Northwest LLC (GTN) and Bison Pipeline LLC.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP has signed a long-term contract to support the expansion of its Sweeny Lateral pipeline, which it is building from the Kinder Morgan Crude Condensate pipeline to Phillip 66’s Sweeny Refinery in Brazoria County, TX. The expansion will increase the capacity on the 27-mile, 12-inch diameter lateral from an initial 30,000 b/d to 100,000 b/d. Kinder Morgan will add new pumps and an additional 120,000 bbl storage tank at its Wharton Pump Station in Wharton County, TX, and increase the truck offload capabilities at its DeWitt Station in DeWitt, County, TX. “We are pleased to provide Phillips 66 with a flexible option to move more crude and condensate out of the Eagle Ford Shale to their refinery in Sweeny,” said KMP Products Pipelines President Ron McClain. Kinder Morgan’s crude/condensate pipeline, which went into service last June, transports crude/condensate from the Eagle Ford to the Houston Ship Channel.

Construction is under way on Intercontinental Terminals Co. LLC’s (ITC) new bulk liquids terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, which will provide storage and handling for petrochemicals and petroleum products as well as petrochemical gases and natural gas liquids (NGL). ITC, a unit of Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc., has been operating on the channel since 1972 and owns and operates a 12.8 million bbl liquid bulk terminal facility in Deer Park, TX. The greenfield terminal is in Pasadena, TX, on the south side of the channel. Start up of operations is expected during the second quarter of 2015 with 10 tanks of 100,000 bbl each. The terminal will have two deep-water ship docks and four barge docks capable of handling large oceangoing tankers as well as inland barges. Multiple product pipelines are adjacent to or near the new terminal, which will also have rail and truck facilities.

Cash gas prices overall for weekend and Monday delivery dropped an average of 6 cents, but if the distorting effects of Northeast pipelines are factored out, the national average comes in nearly unchanged. Eastern points followed soft power prices, but Rockies prices added about a nickel. The April contract shed 0.8 cent to $3.927 and May eased 0.9 cent to $3.952. May crude oil rose $1.26 to $93.71/bbl.