EIA: new natural gas pipeline capacity expands access to export and Northeast markets

In the Gulf Coast, three projects either entered service in the third quarter or were partially completed, totalling 3.6 billion ft³/d of additional pipeline capacity. These projects connect US natural gas production to growing US export markets.

They include:

• The Whistler pipeline, completed on 1 July 2021. The new 2 billion ft³/d pipeline, constructed by NextEra, connects Permian Basin production at the Waha Hub in West Texas to the Agua Dulce Hub in Southeast Texas. The Agua Dulce Hub serves as the supply point for several pipelines that cross the border to supply demand markets in Mexico.
• The Acadiana Expansion Project, partly completed as of 6 August 2021. This 894 million ft³/d expansion on the Kinder Morgan Louisiana intrastate pipeline increases takeaway capacity out of the Haynesville Basin, connecting it to the Sabine Pass LNG terminal. The project is expected to be completed in early 2022.
• The Cameron Extension Project, partly completed as of 12 August 2021. This 750 million ft³/d expansion on the Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) interstate pipeline delivers feedgas to the Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal, which is currently preparing to start commissioning activities. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Several other projects have also entered service, increasing supplies to constrained demand markets in the Northeast. In New England, two projects will improve the region’s access to winter supplies of natural gas by over 100 million ft³/d:

• The 261 Upgrade Projects completed its second and final phase, entering service on 6 October 2021. With the new, upgraded compressor at Station 261, an estimated 20 million ft³/d of additional natural gas supply can be delivered by the Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) into New England.
• Portland Natural Gas Transmission System’s (PNGTS) Westbrook Xpress Project, Phases 2 and 3, entered service on 21 October 2021, increasing natural gas pipeline import capacity from Canada at Pittsburg, New Hampshire, by 81 million ft³/d. The new Westbrook compressor station in Westbrook, Maine, will increase capacity on the co-operated Maritimes Northeast pipeline by 50 million ft³/d.

In addition, the Middlesex Expansion Project entered service in New Jersey on 28 September 2021. This 264 million ft³/d TETCO expansion delivers natural gas—via interconnections with other interstate pipelines—to the 724 MW Woodbridge Energy Center combined-cycle power plant in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.

The pipeline project tracker update also includes the cancellation of the 1.3 billion ft³/d PennEast Pipeline, which was announced in late September. This US$1.3 billion project was designed to bring natural gas supplies from the Appalachia Basin into constrained demand markets in New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania.

In total, the Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Tracker includes updates to 25 interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline projects, including announcements of new projects and estimated dates of completion. The EIA updates this resource quarterly; the next update is scheduled for late January 2022.

Image: Gulf Coast natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure (October 2021).

 

 

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World Pipelines’ November 2021 issue

The November issue features two reports on the Mediterranean midstream oil and gas industry, explaining why there is cause for cautious optimism in the region going forward. Other technical articles cover topics including flow control technologies, construction challenges on the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (ICGB) project, and pipeline surveillance.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/project-news/17112021/eia-new-natural-gas-pipeline-capacity-expands-access-to-export-and-northeast-markets/