February 2011, Vol. 238 No. 2
Projects
Plains All American Announces Expansions
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) has announced two planned expansion projects.
The company’s Shafter Expansion Project consists of a new Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) pipeline system and related upgrades to its Shafter LPG processing facility near Bakersfield, CA.
The project, which carries a $50 million price tag, will link the Shafter facility with Occidental’s Elk Hills gas processing plant and related infrastructure in Elk Hills, CA. The extension calls for construction of a 15-mile LPG pipeline system with a designed throughput capacity of over 10,000 bpd as well as enhancing PAA’s storage and rail capabilities at its Shafter facility. PAA’s Shafter facility currently includes approximately 200,000 bbls of NGL storage, and a processing facility with butane isomerization capacity of 14,000 bpd and NGL fractionation capacity of 12,000 bpd.
PAA has targeted placing the project into service during the third quarter of 2012.
PAA also plans to expand the capacity of its Basin Pipeline system to provide additional take-away capacity for increased crude oil production in west Texas and New Mexico.
The Basin Pipeline system, which is 87% owned and operated by PAA, transports crude oil produced in the Permian Basin of west Texas and southern New Mexico to Cushing, Oklahoma for further delivery to Mid-Continent and Midwest refining centers. The expansion project, which principally consists of making modifications to the pumping capacity of the pipeline, will increase the capacity of the pipeline segment from Colorado City, TX to Cushing, OK from its current capacity of 400,000 bpd to 450,000 bpd. The project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2012.
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