Enterprise, Enbridge and Anadarko to develop Texas Express Pipeline

HOUSTON & THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on March 6 announced that shippers have executed long-term contracts for capacity on the Texas Express Pipeline (TEP) being developed by the joint venture.

The shippers, which include unaffiliated shippers, have tendered 15-year, ship-or-pay transportation agreements containing volume commitments that total 232,000 barrels per day (b/d). The contracts also include an option provision allowing shippers to increase their volume commitment.

Originating near Skellytown in Carson County, Texas, the 20-inch diameter TEP mainline will extend approximately 580 miles to Enterprise's natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation and storage complex at Mont Belvieu, Texas, and will provide access to other third-party facilities in the area.

The pipeline will provide much-needed takeaway capacity for producers in West Texas, the Rocky Mountains, southern Oklahoma and the Mid-continent area, giving them access to the largest NGL market along the Gulf Coast and the opportunity to maximize the value of their NGLs. Production from the Rockies, Permian Basin and Mid-continent will be delivered into TEP through Enterprise's existing Mid-America Pipeline System (MAPL) which extends north through Oklahoma into Conway, Kansas, and south into the Permian Basin.

"This joint venture with Enbridge and Anadarko brings together partners with unique and complementary strengths to provide an industry solution that addresses the need for flow assurance and market choices for producers, as well as reliable supplies of price-advantaged, natural gas-derived feedstocks to meet the increasing demand of petrochemical operators," said Michael A. Creel, president and chief executive officer of Enterprise's general partner. "For Enterprise, this project is a 'bolt-on' expansion that enhances the value of our integrated midstream network of assets, including the pipelines that will feed TEP, as well as our fractionators, storage facilities and distribution network at Mont Belvieu, which will be fed by the new pipeline."

The joint venture also includes two new NGL gathering systems. The first will connect TEP to natural gas processing plants in the Anadarko/Granite Wash production area located in the Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma. The second NGL gathering system will connect the new pipeline to Barnett Shale natural gas processing plants located in Central Texas. Wider access to multiple production areas, in addition to a competitive transportation fee structure, makes this an attractive option for producers and natural gas processors. Enterprise will construct and operate the pipeline, while Enbridge will construct and operate the new gathering systems.

Bear Paw Energy building natural gas processing plants in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. - A North Dakota energy company plans to build two new natural gas processing plants northwest of Williston.

Bear Paw Energy is also planning construction of a 64-mile pipeline to carry natural gas liquids into Montana. Natural gas liquids include propane and butane.

Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer said the two plants will be capable of processing 200 million cubic feet of natural gas each day.

Cramer says the processing plants will cost about $275 million to build. The pipeline will cost about $24 million. It will be capable of carrying up to 65,000 barrels a day of natural gas liquids.

ONEOK plans multi-million dollar NGL pipeline in U.S. West

SIDNEY, Mont. - ONEOK Partners has announced plans to build a multi-million dollar natural gas liquids pipeline through the region.

Representatives of the Tulsa, Okla.-based company have been on the road in eastern Montana and Wyoming visiting with county commissioners and area leaders about the upcoming $430-$500 million project.

The 500-mile Bakken Pipeline, starting near Sidney and traveling south through Wyoming into northern Colorado, will transport raw, unfractionated natural gas liquids from natural gas processing plants in the Bakken Shale play to the company's 50-percent owned existing Overland Pass Pipeline which travels to Kansas where natural gas liquids are processed.

"We’re in the real early stages of this process," Brad Borror, supervisor of external communications, said on a recent trip to Sidney to visit with Richland County commissioners.

ONEOK, doing business as Bear Paw Energy, has already notified affected landowners for surveying properties, and it's looking into purchasing private access for constructing the pipeline. In addition to the Bakken Pipeline, ONEOK is building three new gas plants in North Dakota. The move amounts to a significant financial impact for the MonDak region.

"When it’s all said and done," Borror said, "we’ll be investing approximately $1.5 billion in your region, including this pipeline."

Company officials have to conduct a number of studies focusing on local wildlife, water and soil conditions in order select a route that protects and preserves environmental and cultural resources. Additionally, building the pipeline requires construction approval from federal and state agencies.