November 2020, Vol. 247, No. 11
Projects
Projects
Jemena Reveals Plans to Extend Eastern Gas Pipeline
Newcastle and the Central Coast may soon be integrated further into Australia’s East Coast gas grid with leading energy infrastructure company, Jemena, today revealing plans to extend its 495-mile (797-km) Eastern Gas Pipeline (EGP) from Horsley Park in Sydney to the Hunter Valley.
Jemena is proposing to extend the EGP by 115 miles (185 km) and is progressing plans to modify the pipeline so it can transport more gas to New South Wales and move gas bidirectionally between New South Wales and Victoria.
Jemena’s Managing Director Frank Tudor said the proposal will connect the Hunter Valley to existing domestic gas fields and emerging new sources of gas, including a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Port Kembla and another proposed import terminal at Newcastle.
“Jemena is looking to invest upwards of $400 million to extend the EGP north from Horsley Park into the Hunter Valley,” said Tudor. “Our project is ideally placed to shore up supply for industry in the region and would be capable of servicing new gas-powered generation on the Central Coast. Our early modeling suggests an extension of the EGP would be capable of delivering upwards of 300 TJ/per day to the Hunter Valley, which can be used to generate approximately 1,500 MW of electricity.”
Tudor said Jemena has been working actively on pipeline route options in the Hunter Valley and is preparing to commence community and stakeholder engagement.
T.D. Williamson Crews Isolate Burning NGL Pipeline for Repair
T.D. Williamson crews isolated a ruptured 14-inch natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline while product continued to flare off, enabling repair while the system remained in service and creating the conditions for the fire to extinguish itself.
The west Texas pipeline exploded after it was hit by a third-party contractor excavating the right-of-way in early October. The explosion and massive fire that followed, which shot flames 300 feet into the air, injured four people, one critically, and destroyed the trencher and all other equipment within a 300-yard radius.
The operator moved quickly to reroute product at a drastically lower flow rate. Within hours of the line strike, TDW had begun mobilizing equipment and personnel to the site, including eight hot tapping and plugging (HT&P) technicians who arrived from multiple TDW service centers in Texas, Oklahoma and California to provide around-the-clock coverage.
Charles Parrish, TDW technical sales representative, West Region, Texas & New Mexico, said the company’s response included 40 individuals, seven operations centers and six departments from across the United States. He added that full COVID-19 precautions were followed at every step.
Navigator Looks to Expand Borger Express Pipeline System
Navigator Energy Services set a binding open season on its Borger Express pipeline system, to provide shippers the opportunity to secure crude oil transportation services from Cushing, Okla., to Borger, Texas.
The Borger Express pipeline will provide the new services by using 180 miles (290 km) of an existing crude oil pipeline and constructing nearly 200 miles (322 km) of 16-inch pipeline from Cleo Springs, Okla., to Borger.
The project will provide shippers with critical transportation services for numerous grades of light and heavy crude oil from the Cushing storage hub to third-party storage and a regional refinery in Borger.
Prior to participating in the open season, interested parties must execute a confidentiality agreement to govern the receipt of the open season documentation.
Ingleside Pipeline Begins Shipping to Moda’s Energy Center
Harvest Midstream commissioned two connections between Harvest’s Ingleside Pipeline and Moda Midstream.
“Just a few months after the announcement of the Ingleside Pipeline’s completion, it is a huge win for Harvest and our customers to have these new connections in place,” said Jason Rebrook, CEO of Harvest Midstream Company.
On June 23, Harvest announced the completion of the 600,000-bpd Ingleside Pipeline, a 24-mile (36-km), 24-inch oil pipeline. It originates at the Harvest Midway Terminal and can receive up to 380,000 bpd from the existing Harvest Eagle Ford pipeline system, the company said.
The first of two connections commissioned this week provides shippers with access from the Harvest Ingleside Pipeline to Moda Midstream’s Ingleside Energy Center located in Ingleside, Texas.
The second connection is a bidirectional connection between the Harvest Ingleside Pipeline and Moda Midstream’s Taft Terminal located in Taft, Texas.
Bidirectional capability allows Moda’s Taft Terminal to receive crude volumes from Harvest’s Ingleside Pipeline and deliver volumes to Harvest’s Ingleside Pipeline.
Denmark Approves Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
Denmark’s energy industry announced its approval for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to operate in Danish waters of the Baltic Sea, clearing one of the last remaining hurdles for the Russian project.
The Danish Energy Agency granted the permit on Thursday, almost a year after the application was submitted.
The 760-mile (1,230-km) has come under attack in recent months from the U.S. and other Western governments over fears that the project would increase Europe’s dependence on Russia.
With nearly 90% of the pipeline completed, work was halted late last year on the final stretch of the project as American lawmakers imposed sanctions on companies working on the pipeline.
The project came under further scrutiny last month, even from Germany, the project’s biggest European supporter, after a political opponent to Russian President Vladimir Putin was poisoned on a domestic flight in late August.
The Kremlin-backed project could carry as much as 1.9 Tcf (55 Bcm) of Russian natural gas a year into Europe under the Baltic Sea, making landfall in Germany.
Gas Release from Kinder Morgan Pipeline in Texas
Kinder Morgan reported a natural gas release early in the morning of Oct. 4 from its pipeline near Goodrich, Texas, in Polk County outside of Livingston.
Emergency responders were on the scene and assisted with evacuations of the surrounding area.
No injuries or fire were reported as it appears the release happened on the section of the pipeline that crosses underneath the Trinity River.
In a statement to Pipeline & Gas Journal, the company said, “An investigation into the cause and quantity of natural gas released is being conducted.” It also said it was working with customers in the area to address and mitigate any potential impacts.
ABC affiliate KTRK-TV in San Jacinto County reported the pipeline as a dry natural gas line owned by Kinder Morgan that is one of several which cross the river south of Goodrich.
Max Midstream Acquires Seahawk Pipeline, Plans Expansion
Houston-based Max Midstream acquired the Seahawk Pipeline and Terminal at the Port of Calhoun from Oaktree Capital and plans to construct a new crude oil pipeline that will connect the Port to the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin.
The new pipeline will transport up to 20 million barrels a month to a “revitalized” terminal at the Port, Max Midstream said. Exports will begin with completion of the first phase in late 2020, it said, with plans for completion of a second phase by 2023.
Max Midstream said its system expansion with delivery to the Port of Calhoun will offer an economical alternative to export points in Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, “which are typically at or near full capacity with congestion.
“This project represents a game-changer, as it will open a third option – the (Calhoun) Port,” the company said in its announcement.
Max Midstream said it now operates its newly acquired Seahawk pipeline that connects the Kinder Morgan Crude and Condensate Interconnect in Edna, Texas, to its Seahawk terminal at the Port of Calhoun. Future expansion will include new pipeline connections with Gray Oak and Victoria Express to Max Midstream’s Edna terminal, allowing Permian and Eagle Ford crude oil exports via the port.
“By November of 2020 we will have 1.5 million barrels of storage built at Edna and 600,000 barrels of storage at the Port and the existing Seahawk pipeline, with the ability to export up to 4.2 million barrels a month,” said Todd Edwards, president of Max Midstream.
Max Midstream said it has reached an agreement with the Calhoun Port Authority in which Max Midstream will invest $360 million to finance the deepening and widening of the Port by 2023. In the interim, Max Midstream has secured its own lightering zone to perform reverse lightering to export crude onto larger ships like very large crude carriers (VLCCs).
Colonial Pipeline Completes Acquisition of Refined Product Terminals
Colonial Pipeline Company completed the acquisition of three refined product terminals from Lincoln Terminal Company, a Southeast products and biofuels marketing and logistics company.
The new business will operate under the brand name Colonial Premier Terminals.
Two of the terminals acquired, located in Charlotte, N.C., and Chattanooga, Tenn., are currently connected to the Colonial Pipeline Company system, and the other, located in Fredericksburg, Va., is connected to Plantation Pipe Line.
“This acquisition provides an excellent opportunity for Colonial to move into the terminal business, offers a complementary service to Colonial Pipeline Company’s current customers and lays the groundwork for further strategic expansion,” said Joe Blount, President and CEO of Colonial Enterprises.
“The acquisition process has gone smoothly, and we expect Colonial will leverage its operations experience and extend it to the terminal business,” said Larry Burgamy, CEO and president of Lincoln.
Black Bear Sells Ozark Natural Gas Gathering Assets
Black Bear Transmission completed the divestiture of all the assets owned by Ozark Gas Gathering (OGG) to an undisclosed buyer.
This divestiture follows two bolt-on acquisitions completed by Black Bear this year – the purchase of the Ozark Gas Transmission and Gathering systems from Enbridge in April 2020 and the NGT Assets from Third Coast Midstream in September.
OGG owns and operates a fee-based, natural gas gathering system that connects regional production in Oklahoma and Arkansas to Ozark Gas Transmission and other long-haul pipelines. The asset sale consists of more than 220 active metered locations, approximately 330 miles (531 km) of natural gas pipelines and 19 active compressor units totaling 11,400 hp.
Centurion Confirms Augusta Pipeline on Schedule
Centurion Pipeline announced the Augustus Pipeline is on schedule and expected to begin service on Dec. 1.
The 18- and 20-inch Augustus Pipeline provides true physical connectivity for West Texas Intermediate (WTI), West Texas Light (WTL), and West Texas Sour (WTSR) from Midland, Texas, to Crane, Texas. The pipeline connects Centurion’s existing Midland Terminal, which currently has 2 million barrels of storage capacity, to multiple long-haul pipelines originating at Crane.
Centurion Pipeline owns and operates about 3,000 miles (4,828 km) of pipeline, extending from southeast New Mexico across the Permian Basin of West Texas to Cushing, Okla. Centurion is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lotus Midstream, LLC.
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