Mitsui & Co. to invest in Kinder Morgan gas pipeline project

In order to benefit from the shale gas export boom, Japan’s largest iron ore supplier, Mitsui & Co., has agreed to buy 30% of a US gas pipeline started by Kinder Morgan Inc.

US$ 200 million gas pipeline

The gas pipeline project, run by Kinder Morgan’s subsidiary Sierrita Gas Pipeline LLC, will connect an existing pipeline link at Tucson, Arizona with Sasabe on the Mexican border. According to a recent statement from Tokyo-based Mitsui, the 100 km (62 mile) pipeline will cost around US$ 200 million to build. Kinder Morgan will also sell a 35% stake in the pipeline to Mexico’s state-run oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos, according to Mitsui.

Following approvals from US regulators, the pipeline, which will transport about 200 million ft³/d of gas, will begin operating by September 2014.

The Japanese trading company, which owns stakes in US shale gas production assets, is seeking to build a “gas value chain,” it said.

75 000 miles of energy pipelines

Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and the third largest energy company in North America with a combined enterprise value of approximately US$ 100 billion. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 75 000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals.

Edited from various sources by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/22072013/mitsui_to_invest_in_kinder_morgan_gas_pipeline_project/