Kinder Morgan plans 780-mi line

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners has announced plans for a 780-mi pipeline that is designed to transport up to 1.5 Bcfd of natural gas from a point near Stinnett, Texas, to northwest Alabama near the town of Florence.
The proposed MidContinent Express pipeline would move gas from the Anadarko and Arkoma basins and the Fayetteville Shale region to markets in the eastern and southeastern United States.
Through a new delivery interconnect with Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America’s Gulf Coast line, Kinder Morgan says that shippers will also have access to additional markets via the proposed Rockies Express pipeline. Pending regulatory approval and shipper support, the MidContinent Express pipeline is expected to be built to meet a fourth-quarter 2008 completion.

Overland Pass project advances
Northern Border Partners and Williams report that they have formed a joint venture to build a 750-mi, 14 and 16-in. natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from Wyoming to Kansas. The $450-million Overland Pass pipeline would run from Opal, Wyoming, to the Mid-continent natural gas liquids market center in Conway, Kansas.
The project is designed to link the high-growth NGL production area in the Rocky Mountain region to fractionation facilities at Bushton and Conway, Kansas. Current plans call for the line to transport 110,000 bpd of natural gas liquids. Additional pump facilities could increase the capacity to 150,000 bpd. Northern Border Partners also says it plans to invest approximately $160 million to expand its existing fractionation capabilities and the capacity of its natural gas liquids distribution pipelines.
The proposed route would traverse 23 counties in three states: five each in Wyoming and Colorado, and 13 in Kansas. Because the route spans from higher to lower elevations, the pipeline would require fewer pump stations to move the NGLs, thereby minimizing operating costs. The project will require the approval of various state and federal regulatory agencies and governments. With timely approvals, construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2007 and move toward an early 2008 completion.

Energy Transfer announces expansion
Energy Transfer Partners reports that it has approved an expansion of its 42-in. natural gas pipeline construction project in southeast Texas. The expansion consists of adding 157 mi of 36-in. pipeline and 92,700 hp of compression.
This new 36-in. pipeline will begin in Limestone County and run in a southeasterly direction to interconnect with the 30-in. Texoma system in Hardin County Texas, northeast of Beaumont.
The company says that this $360-million expansion will increase the throughput capabilities of the project to a volume of 2.3 Bcf per day, and brings its total cost to $895 million. The project is expected to be completed by August 2007.

Boardwalk plans 89-mi pipeline
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners reports that is planning to build an 89-mi, 36-in. natural gas pipeline in Mississippi as part of its southeast expansion project. The pipeline would originate near Jackson, Mississippi and interconnect with Destin Pipeline in Clarke County, Mississippi. From there, gas would be transported using Gulf South’s leased capacity on Destin to Florida markets through interconnects with Florida Gas Transmission and Gulfstream pipelines.
The Southeast Expansion project is designed to move Barnett Shale and Bossier Sands gas from the Jackson, Mississippi, area to Florida markets and various other interconnects with interstate pipelines and storage facilities serving markets in the Southeast and Northeast. Pending regulatory approvals, the project is expected to be complete during the first half of 2008.

Chevron approves deepwater line
Chevron has approved the construction of a 55-mi deepwater crude oil pipeline that will connect the Chevron-operated Tahiti project to the existing Amberjack pipeline in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The company also reports that it has approved expanding the pipeline from a 20-in. to a 24-in. diameter design that can handle 300,000 bpd, and accommodate additional discoveries in the Walker Ridge and Green Canyon areas.
The new line will be located in 4,200 ft of water in Green Canyon block 641, and will connect the Tahiti platform, currently under construction, and the existing Amberjack pipeline system and other existing crude oil pipeline infrastructure in Green Canyon Block 19. A 2008 completion is planned.

Petrobras, Sinopec to build line
Petrobras and Sinopec have signed an engineering, procurement and construction agreement for the 187-mi, 28-in. Cabiunas-Vitoria (Gascav) gas pipeline. The contract is for (U.S.) $239 million and involves the construction of the gas pipeline over a 15-month period.
The Gascav pipeline will run from Macae in Rio de Janeiro state to Vitoria, the state capital of Espirito Santo, just north of Rio de Janeiro. From Vitoria, the pipeline is slated to continue north and pass by a gas treatment unit in Cacimbas in Espirito Santo, and from there to Catu, near Salvador, the capital Bahia state.
It will be constructed in three spreads. The first spread, 48.5 mi in length, will begin at the Cabiunas terminal on the northern seaboard of the state of Rio de Janeiro, and end at the delivery point in Campos de Goytacazes. The second spread, some 78 mi, will run from Campos de Goytacazes to the future Piuma compression station, which will be located on the coast of the state of Espirito Santo. The third spread will run about 60 mi from the Piuma compression station to the pressure reduction station in the city of Serra.
The Gascav pipeline will be the first stretch of the 848-mi Gasene system, also called the Southeast-Northeast gas pipeline. This larger system will connect natural gas suppliers in the southeast to consumers in the northeast. The Vitoria-Cacimbas pipeline – roughly 78 mi long and already under construction – and the Cacimbas-Catu gas pipeline, the longest stretch at 475 mi and in the project development phase, are also part of the Gasene project.
The Gasene/Southeast-Northeast pipeline project is designed to meet the shortfall in gas supplies to the Northeast Region, increase the distribution of Bolivian gas and create new markets, notably between Cabiunas in the state of Rio de Janeiro and Catu in the state of Bahia. Once completed, the pipeline will also permit the monetization of existing and future gas reserves from the Campos, Santos and Espirito Santo basins and provide greater flexibility for the redistribution of gas supplies to meet eventual fluctuations in demand.