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Recent Pipeline Completions Focused on LNG Projects; Upcoming Projects in Permian, Mid-Atlantic
25 September 2019
With several LNG projects coming online recently or soon to come
online, it's not surprising that some of the recent key pipeline
completions are serving those facilities.
Then, looking out to the end of 2019 in the PointLogic pipeline
data base, project in services are focused on Permian takeaway
capacity, Marcellus takeaway and Mid-Atlantic end-users.
LNG-related pipelines
Both Cameron LNG (Train 1) in Louisiana and Freeport LNG (Train
1) in Texas began commercial operations in August, and Cheniere got
the go-ahead for Corpus Christi Train 2 on August 28. Elba LNG in
Georgia isn't far behind, as it has applied for in service with
FERC for the first six of its smaller-capacity trains.
Those facilities combined will add about 2.044 Bcf/d of gas
demand if they run at full utilization, and they have spurred new
pipeline development.
For example, the Elba Liquefaction Pipeline Project came into
service on August 16, capable of delivering up to 350 MMcf/d to the
liquefaction operation.
The Texas Intrastate SK Freeport LNG pipeline, a Kinder Morgan
project, is tied to serving Freeport LNG, and its in service is
imminent, according to Kinder Morgan. The intrastate pipeline can
deliver up to 440 MMcf/d of gas from Kinder Morgan's Tejas
Pipeline, of which 320 MMcf/d is spoken for under a 20-year
contract by SK Freeport.
Corpus Christi LNG, meanwhile, has signed up for 75 MMcf/d of
volume from the Cheniere Midstream Midship Pipeline project, which
is due online in December. This 1.44 Bcf/d project will move
Anadarko, STACK and SCOOP gas from Oklahoma plays to transmission
lines that can reach the Gulf Coast from the Bennington, Oklahoma
hub.
Permian Takeaway
One big theme for the fall is increasing Permian takeaway, and
Kinder Morgan has a hand in each of the takeaway projects expected
to be online by the end of the year.
Gulf Coast Express is the biggest fish in the pond. The 2 Bcf/d
Kinder Morgan project is expected to be online by October 1,
connecting the Waha area to Agua Dulce, Texas. A 50-mile, 36-inch,
lateral will connect the main pipeline to gas processing plants in
the Permian's Midland Basin, further building on the Midland
Lateral that went into service last year.
Supporting Gulf Coast Express is an intrastate Kinder Morgan
project, Cogent Midstream, which will move residue gas from an
expanded Big Lake Natural Gas Processing Complex to Gulf Coast
Express. The 400 MMcf/d project is expected to be in service by
December 1, enabling takeaway from the processing complex, which
will soon have a capacity of 510 MMcf/d.
Another Kinder Morgan project, being built by its El Paso
Natural Gas company, also will come into service on or about
October 1: the Northern Delaware Basin Expansion. The major part of
this 320 MMcf/d project is a 24-inch, 14-mile loop on an existing
EPNG line in Winkler County, Texas. Two shippers signed up for all
its takeaway capacity.
Other projects
One other Texas project is coming into service by the end of the
year, Phase III of the Roadrunner Gas Transmission project by
ONEOK. This final phase will add 70 MMcf/d more capacity to the
pipeline, enabling it to move 640 MMcf/d to the Mexico border. With
the announcement on August 27 that Mexico's president and pipelines
in Mexico that are moving gas from border crossings to demand
centers have resolved their differences, it's likely that
Roadrunner and other border-crossing pipelines will be able to ramp
up their deliveries.
Another project, the Westlake Expansion, is designed to serve a
power plant in Louisiana. This 200,000 Dth/d project is in partial
service, and full service is expected in September, as a compressor
was approved on August 12.
Looking to the East and Mid-Atlantic, many projects are coming
online, led by two large projects by EQT:
EQT Expansion Project. Now in partial service and with full in
service expected in September, this is a 600 MMcf/d project to
increase gas deliveries to LDCs and industrial users in in the
Mid-Atlantic by adding more Pennsylvania gas from EQT's gathering
network to TETCO and Dominion Transmission.
Hammerhead Pipeline Project also is being developed by EQT. It
can handle up to 1.6 Bcf/d of Pennsylvania gas production,
providing a major new outlet to the South and Gulf. Currently, 1.2
Bcf/d has been contracted for Hammerhead, which is now expected to
reach in service by the end of the year.
The Cove Point Eastern Market Access Project is set to come in
service on August 30, according to Dominion Energy, the prime
developer. It will deliver an additional 147 MMcf/d of gas to two
LDCs in Maryland.
Riverdale to South is another LDC-oriented project, in this
case for customers Direct Energy Business Marketing and UGI Energy
Services, both in New Jersey. The in service on this Transco
(Williams) 190 MMcf/d project has been moved up to September 2,
well in advance of winter's high-demand season.
Eastern Shore 2017 Expansion. Now at partial in-service and
aiming for September 30, the project will add 61 MMcf/d of delivery
capacity to serve Delaware customers.
Line N to Monaca. This project is a lateral from a National
Fuel Gas that will serve the new Shell ethane petrochemicals
complex in Potter Township. All of the 133 MMcf/d is contracted by
Shell for this project, which could start as early as late
September, though FERC granted the company an extension until
October 11 to reach in service.
The Risberg Project by RH Energytrans also has a key industrial
user, in this case a pig iron furnace in Ashtabula, Ohio that will
take 15 MMcf/d. The other 40 MMcf/d of the project has been
contracted by Dominion East Ohio for res/com users. The gas will be
coming from Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Pennsylvania.
New England continues to struggle with having sufficient gas
supply, but a couple of linked TC Energy (subsidiary Portland
Natural Gas Transmission) projects will ease the burden slightly
this winter, as they are on target for November 1 in service
dates:
Westbrook XPress. This project will add 45 MMcf/d of gas
delivery into Maine from an interconnect in New Hampshire.
Portland XPress Phase II. This project is part of a three-phase
project to deliver about 90 MMcf/d of gas across New Hampshire,
Maine and down to Massachusetts.
Other projects coming online in the fourth quarter of 2019 help
solve localized needs, including: the North Seattle Lateral in
Washington State; High Plains Kiowa Lateral in in Colorado; Demicks
Lake in North Dakota; and Northern Lights 2019 Expansion in Iowa
and Minnesota.
