Sierrita details planned expansion

Following a successful open season, Sierrita Gas Pipeline LLC (Sierrita) has announced details of a planned expansion and development of compression facilities on the Sierrita pipeline, which was placed in service on 31 October 2014. The approximately 60 mile, 36 in. dia. pipeline currently provides 200 846 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of firm transportation capacity and extends from Kinder Morgan, Inc.’s El Paso Natural Gas south mainlines, near Tucson, Arizona, to the US-Mexico border near Sasabe, Arizona.

In response to expressions of interest, Sierrita conducted an open season for expansion capacity.

The open season closed on 5 October 2015. Sierrita received a binding bid from Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and awarded to CFE a minimum expansion volume of 230 254 Dth/d by April 2020 for a term of approximately 19.5 years. CFE can elect to increase the expansion capacity to 309 154 Dth/d by providing notice to Sierrita no later than 29 February 2016.

In order to facilitate the expansion service, Sierrita is planning to install a new 16 000 - 21 000 hp compressor station and undertake modifications to existing meter station facilities. The pipeline’s current design capacity is fully subscribed under a 25 year firm transportation agreement with CFE. Depending on CFE’s final volume election, the revised firm transportation capacity of the pipeline will be 431 100 Dth/d or 510 000 Dth/d, after commissioning of expansion facilities.

Comments from Sierrita

“Through this project, Sierrita and its partners are pleased to be able to provide customers in Mexico with additional capacity and incremental future supplies of clean, efficient natural gas,” said Sierrita Vice President Greg Ruben. “The initial Sierrita project created temporary jobs, permanent tax benefits for the state of Arizona and the means to transport abundant, cost-efficient US gas production to Mexico.

“As with the initial Sierrita project, this long-term endeavour represents a continuing and highly successful, multi-national cooperative effort on the part of companies whose parent corporations are headquartered in the US, Mexico and Japan. Notably, Sierrita assists Mexico to meet its environmental goals of converting existing fuel-oil-fired power generation plants to efficient, clean burning natural gas and provide natural gas to fuel future power plants.”

Additional information

The Sierrita project was built in partnership with Kinder Morgan Operating L.P. “A”, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc., MGI Enterprises US LLC, a wholly owned affiliate of Pemex Transformación Industrial, a subsidiary of Petróleos Mexicanos, the Mexican state-owned oil and gas company, and MIT Pipeline Investment Americas, Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. The Sierrita Pipeline interconnects with an existing natural gas pipeline in Mexico owned by IENova.

Edited from source by Stephanie Roker

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/20012016/sierrita-details-planned-expansion/