October 2016, Vol. 243, No. 10
Projects
Projects
Transco Expansion to Connect with Global LNG Market
Williams Partners’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FEREC) to construct a 475,000 Dth/d expansion in Texas and Louisiana to connect natural gas supplies with global LNG markets.
Constructed in two phases, the proposed Gulf Connector Project is designed to deliver 75,000 Dth/d to Freeport LNG Development’s liquefaction project by the second half of 2018, and 400,000 Dth/d to Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal in 2019. Pending regulatory approvals, construction on the first phase of the project will begin in the third quarter of 2017 in order to be placed into service during the second half of 2018.
Both liquefaction facilities are under construction. The Freeport LNG export terminal will have an aggregate export capacity of 15.3 mtpa and planned to begin operating in phases between September 2018 and August 2019. Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal is expected to have an aggregate nominal production capacity of up to 22.5 mtpa and reach substantial completion in 2019.
The Gulf Connector Project involves adding compression and making the natural gas flow bi-directional on a portion of the Transco system between Louisiana and South Texas. The project is designed to provide incremental firm transportation from Transco’s Station 65 in St. Helena Parish, LA to mainline interconnects with proposed header pipelines in Wharton County, TX and San Patricio County, TX.
Williams Partners is also building the Gulf Trace Project to serve Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction project in Cameron Parish, LA, the first large-scale LNG export facility in operation in the continental U.S. The Gulf Trace Project is expected to be completed in early 2017.
Open Season for Second Phase of Michigan/Ohio Expansion
Buckeye Partners’ operating subsidiaries, Buckeye Pipe Line Co., held a binding open season to solicit commitments for the second phase of its Michigan/Ohio Pipeline Expansion Project.
Once complete, this will allow Buckeye to offer expanded transportation service of refined petroleum products from origin points in Woodhaven and Detroit, MI, Toledo, Findlay and Lima, OH, and Midland, PA to a destination point in the Altoona area in central Pennsylvania.
Buckeye will reverse a portion of its existing Laurel Pipeline to carry refined petroleum products from Pittsburgh to central Pennsylvania. This is in addition to the first phase, which offered expanded transportation services from midwestern origin points to destination points as far east as the Pittsburgh area.
Sabal Trail Pipeline Wins FERC Approval
Sabal Trail Transmission, a joint venture of Spectra Energy Corp. NextEra Energy, Inc. and Duke Energy, gained FERC approval to construct the 515-mile Sabal Trail interstate natural gas pipeline to provide transportation services for power generation needs to Florida Power and Light (FPL) and Duke Energy of Florida beginning in May 2017.
The Sabal Trail pipeline will be able to transport more than 1 Bcf/d of natural gas to serve local distribution companies, industrial users and natural gas-fired power generators in the Southeast. Once completed, the Sabal Trail Pipeline will connect with the 126-mile Florida Southeast Connection pipeline being built by Florida Southeast Connection, a wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy. FPL will buy 400 MMcf/d beginning from Florida Southeast Connection, increasing to 600 MMcf/d in 2020.
Construction Starts on Sunbury Pipeline
UGI Energy Services launched construction of the 20-inch Sunbury Pipeline with a groundbreaking ceremony near the Panda Power Funds Hummel Station generating plant in Shamokin Dam. According to the CentralPenn Business Journal, UGI Energy Services President Brad Hall told the gathering of over 100 guests and dignitaries, “The Sunbury Pipeline Project represents an incremental step forward for Pennsylvania natural gas infrastructure, and a major step forward for Pennsylvania’s energy future.”
The route will begin in Lycoming County and travel 35 miles to feed into the Hummel Station power plant which is under construction at the site of the former Sunbury coal plant in Shamokin Dam, Synder County. Construction is expected to be completed by year end. The plant is projected to come online in early 2018 and power 1 million homes.
Eagle LNG Submits FERC Filing for Florida LNG Facility
Eagle LNG Partners has submitted a draft Resource Report 13 to FERC for its Jacksonville, FL project authorizing the siting and construction of onshore and near-shore LNG import or export facilities. Eagle LNG anticipates filing its formal application with FERC prior to the end of the year.
Dick Brown, CEO of Eagle LNG, said this moves the project closer to receiving the necessary permits and approvals to commence construction and operation of the planned 1 mtpa LNG facility. The company expects to begin start-up and commissioning in 2019.
Supplemental Open Season Set for Bakken Pipeline
Dakota Access, LLC and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company (ETCO) plan a binding supplemental open season to solicit shipper commitments for transportation service for Bakken/Three Forks production to reach multiple markets through their respective pipeline systems – collectively, the Bakken Pipeline.
Dakota Access and ETCO each anticipate that incremental transport capacity for Bakken/Three Forks production will be determined based on committed subscriptions made by shippers during the supplemental open season.
The open season includes local tariff service on the Dakota Access pipeline from the Bakken/Three Forks play to Patoka, IL, and gives parties the opportunity for joint tariff service from the Bakken/Three Forks play to Nederland, TX through a commitment to both the Dakota Access and ETCO pipeline systems.
B.C. Pipelines Granted Environment Approval
A proposed $235 million pipeline from Wonowon to Taylor and another pipeline that will carry gas to the proposed Woodfibre LNG plant received environmental approval by the British Columbia government, according to Alaska Highway News.
Pembina-owned Plateau Pipeline’s Northeast B.C. expansion will add 75,000 bpd of condensate natural gas liquids to its system, while the Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre pipeline takes another step toward B.C.’s first LNG export terminal.
The 160-km Plateau Pipeline will run from the Highway 97/Blair Creek area north of Wonowon to an existing terminal in Taylor. The project will transport natural gas liquids, including condensate, propane, butane or other combinations. The project will operate for a minimum of 25 years and have a transmission capacity of 75,000 bpd.
As for Eagle Mountain, the pipeline’s approval will allow gas from near Dawson Creek to reach the $1.8 billion LNG export facility to be located near Howe Sound. Conditions for that pipeline include contributing $250,000 to develop a grizzly bear mitigation and monitoring plan, and using underground trenchless construction methods to reduce impacts on the Skwelwil’em Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area.
Pipeline Planned to Supply Nova Scotia LNG Terminal
Bear Paw Pipeline Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of LNGL, plans to construct and operate a 62.5-km pipeline to supply natural gas to the Bear Head LNG terminal in Nova Scotia. All required initial permits are in place for Bear Head LNG to construct the export facility in Point Tupper on the Strait of Canso southeast of Port Hawkesbury.
The Bear Paw Pipeline Project will connect gas supply sources near Goldboro, Nova Scotia, to the NGL facility. The project is subject to Canadian regulatory review and extensive studies have been undertaken to establish an appropriate route. Environmental assessment registrations are being prepared in accordance with the Nova Scotia Environmental Act.
Diamond Pipeline Awards Pipe Contract
Welspun Tubular has a $47 million contract to supply pipe for Diamond Pipeline’s $900 million pipeline that will transport 200,000 bopd from Cushing, OK to Memphis, TN.
The project design consists of 440 miles of 20-inch pipeline to transport sweet crude oil from the Permian Basin, Bakken and Mid-Continent regions. Plans call for engineering, permitting and right-of-way acquisition to be completed this year and construction completed in 2017.
ESNG Gets FERC Nod for Delaware Project
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved plans by Eastern Shore Natural Gas (ESNG), Chesapeake Utilities’ interstate natural gas transmission subsidiary, to construct pipeline and compression facilities to preserve the reliability of its interstate pipeline system. The project is estimated to cost $36 million.
The project consists of 10.1 miles of pipeline, including 2.5 miles of 16-inch looping in New Castle County and 7.6 miles of 16-inch looping in Kent County, and adding 1,775 horsepower of compression at ESNG’s existing Bridgeville station in Sussex County. Completion is expected in early 2017.
Private Deepwater Port Planned in Louisiana
HBW Resources was retained by Port Cameron, LLC to enhance its bid to identify and secure customers for its private deepwater staging port in Cameron Parish, LA.
The port complex, located on the Calcasieu Ship Channel, 185 miles east of Houston and just south of Lake Charles, will encompass 500 acres with an additional 750 acres available for expansion. Its proximity to shelf and deepwater offshore oil and gas exploration is expected to help serve the growing needs of energy development in the Gulf of Mexico.
The port will be home to the largest private energy services facility on the Gulf Coast. Construction on the $1.5 billion project is set to begin in November.
A report by Loren Scott Associates, a Baton Rouge-based economic consulting firm, said the port would be an economic boon to the region, creating $2.8 billion in sales and about 10,000 jobs for the state when fully leased. The projected four-year construction phase of the facility would generate nearly $9.5 billion in new sales for firms in the Lake Charles area, plus over 16,000 jobs a year.
Work Begins on Gas-Fueled Power Plant in Pennsylvania
Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners started construction of the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station, a 925 MW natural gas-fueled power plant near Smithton in Westmoreland County. The project is expected to be completed in late 2018.
The plant will provide enough power for 925,000 homes in the PJM Interconnection transmission market, which coordinates the delivery of reliable power in all or parts of 13 eastern states, and the District of Columbia.
Black & Veatch is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project. Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems is supplying the two natural gas turbines for Tenaska Westmoreland.
TransCanada, 4 Unions Sign MOU for Energy East Pipeline
TransCanada and senior representatives of the four major pipeline unions and the Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for work on the Energy East Pipeline Project.
The MOU ensures thousands of the skilled pipeline trade jobs required for the project will go to members of the PLCAC and four union partners: the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA), Labourers International Union of North America (LiUNA), International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and Teamsters Canada.
“This MOU signing is very significant for TransCanada,” said Russ Girling, the company president and CEO. “We are committed to hiring the best workers this country has to offer for the over 14,000 jobs Energy East will create annually across Canada during the nine years it will take to develop and build the pipeline. And above all, we are committed to ensuring Energy East is built safely.”
Energy East is a 4,500-km pipeline that will transport about 1.1 MMbopd from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Eastern Canadian refineries in Québec and New Brunswick. Since the project was announced in 2013, TransCanada said it has spent $800 million to develop Energy East across Canada. However, the company has not received final approval for construction at this time.
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