WORLD NEWS EIA: recent completions of natural gas pipeline projects increase US transportation capacity From November 2020 through January 2021, approximately 4.4 billion ft3/d of new natural gas pipeline capacity entered service, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) ‘Natural Gas Pipeline Project Tracker’. Four projects have recently been completed and entered service: Saginaw Trail Pipeline: Consumer Energy’s US$610 million intrastate Saginaw Trail Pipeline entered service in late November 2020. The project replaced and expanded natural gas pipelines and infrastructure in Saginaw, Genesse, and Oakland Counties in Michigan, increasing natural gas capacity by 0.2 billion ft3/d. Buckeye Xpress Project: Columbia Gas Transmission’s (CGT) 0.3 billion ft3/d Buckeye Xpress Project began operations in December 2020. The US$709 million project involved infrastructure improvements and replaced 66 miles of existing natural gas pipeline with more reliable 36 in. pipe in Ohio and West Virginia. The project increases transportation capacity out of the Appalachia Basin into CGT’s interconnection in Leach, Kentucky, and the TCO Pool in West Virginia.
Permian Highway Pipeline: Kinder Morgan’s Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) entered service in early January. The 430 mile pipeline brings 2.1 billion ft3/d of additional natural gas capacity from the Waha Hub, located in West Texas near production activities in the Permian Basin, to Katy, Texas, near the Gulf Coast. It has additional connections to Mexico. Agua Blanca Expansion Project: Whitewater/MPLX’s Agua Blanca Expansion Project, which entered service in late January, connects to nearly 20 natural gas processing sites in the Delaware Basin. It transports an additional 1.8 billion ft3/d of natural gas to the Waha Hub in West Texas. The project will also connect with the Whistler Pipeline, which is scheduled to be completed in 3Q21 and is expected to move 2.0 billion ft3/d of natural gas from the Permian Basin to the Texas Gulf Coast. In December, Tellurian withdrew its application to build the Permian Global Access Pipeline in Texas and Louisiana, effectively cancelling the project. The proposed 2.0 billion ft3/d project would have transported natural gas from the Permian Basin to a proposed LNG facility in Gillis, Louisiana.
GlobalData: Nigeria to account for 23% of upcoming oil and gas projects in Africa by 2025 Nigeria is expected to have 100 oil and gas projects commencing operations across the value chain between 2021 and 2025, accounting for 23% of the total project starts in Africa. Newbuild projects dominate the upcoming projects and account for around 90% of the total projects commencing operations across the value chain, according to GlobalData’s report, ‘Africa Oil and Gas Projects Outlook to 2025 –
Development Stage, Capacity, Capex and Contractor Details of All New Build and Expansion Projects’. The report reveals that of the 100 projects expected to commence operations during the outlook period, petrochemicals will have the highest count with 28 projects, followed by upstream (25), refinery (24) and midstream (23). Midstream projects will account for around 23% of all oil and gas projects in Nigeria by 2025.
Uganda and Tanzania: final agreements for the Lake Albert resources development project During a signing ceremony held on 11 April in Entebbe, Uganda, in the presence of Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, as well as representatives of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), the partners of the Lake Albert development project concluded the final agreements required to launch the project. The Lake Albert development encompasses Tilenga and Kingfisher upstream oil projects in Uganda and the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania. The Tilenga project, operated by Total, and the Kingfisher project, operated by CNOOC, are expected to deliver a combined production of 230 000 bpd at plateau. The upstream partners are Total (56.67%), CNOOC (28.33%) and UNOC (15%). The production will be transported from the oilfields in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania via EACOP cross-border pipeline, with Total, UNOC, TPDC and CNOOC as
shareholders. The agreements concluded mid April include the Shareholders Agreement of EACOP and the Tariff and Transportation Agreement between EACOP and the Lake Albert oil shippers. These agreements open the way for the commencement of the Lake Albert development project. The main engineering, procurement and construction contracts will be awarded shortly, and construction will start. First oil export is planned in early 2025. “The Tilenga development and EACOP pipeline project are major projects for Total and are consistent with our strategy to focus on low breakeven oil projects while lowering the average carbon intensity of the Group’s upstream portfolio. These projects will create significant in-country value for both Uganda and Tanzania” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total. “Total is also taking into the highest consideration the sensitive environmental context and social stakes of these onshore projects. Our commitment is to implement these projects in an exemplary and fully transparent manner”.
MAY 2021 / World Pipelines
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