|
HOUSTON, July 16, 2002 -- Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., which operates Plantation Pipe Line Company, recently announced plans to increase capacity on a 190-mile segment of the Plantation common carrier pipeline that transports refined petroleum products throughout the southeastern United States.
The proposed $116 million project, which is needed to meet the area's growing need for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, will entail replacing an existing eight-inch pipeline between Bremen, Ga. and Knoxville, Tenn. with a new 20-inch pipeline. The project is being supported by long-term contracts with major oil companies.
"The Plantation project is one of many exciting expansion initiatives that KMP has undertaken across the United States to provide additional infrastructure to help meet increasing demand for energy products in high-growth markets," explained Richard D. Kinder, chairman and CEO of KMP. "These expansion projects are expected to generate strong earnings and cash-flow growth for KMP and our unitholders."
KMP has previously announced over $300 million in additional expansion projects that are currently underway in its four business segments, including:
Products Pipelines -- Construction to increase capacity of the CALNEV pipeline and to build additional tanks and infrastructure to meet growing customer demand for gasoline and jet fuel in Las Vegas, Nev. This expansion will increase transportation capacity on the pipeline by 16 percent to 128,000 barrels per day.
Natural Gas Pipelines -- Construction of a new 86-mile natural gas pipeline in Texas with a capacity of 325,000 MMBtu per day that will serve two large electric generating plants near Dallas. In addition, development of 6 billion cubic feet of additional storage capacity at the company's new Cheyenne Market Center in Weld County, Colo. to provide additional services for growing natural gas supplies in Wyoming. Both projects are supported by long-term customer contracts.
Terminals -- Tank construction to significantly increase storage capacity at its large Pasadena and Carteret terminals located on the Houston Ship Channel and on New York Harbor, respectively. This will add over 1.9 million barrels of additional liquids storage capacity for petroleum and petrochemicals at these two terminals. Both projects are supported by long-term contracts with existing shippers.
CO2 Pipelines -- Construction of a new CO2 pipeline and additional infrastructure to support the company's expanding CO2 flooding program at the SACROC Unit in the Permian Basin of west Texas. When completed, CO2 deliveries are expected to increase by 60 percent and oil production at SACROC is expected to grow from approximately 12,000 barrels per day to more than 20,000 barrels per day by the end of 2003.
Plantation Project
Plantation Pipe Line Company has already received approval of its tariff structure from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Knoxville expansion. According to Thomas A. Bannigan, president of Plantation Pipe Line Company, the company has been consulting with local government officials and regulatory authorities to ensure that the expanded pipeline will meet or exceed all federal, state, and local guidelines.
"The proposed replacement pipeline, which will double capacity on the segment of the pipe between Bremen and Knoxville to approximately 90,000 barrels per day, will generally follow the alignment of existing utility corridors and rights-of-way. Construction is expected to take place in 2004, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of that year," Bannigan said. He noted that industry statistics show that pipelines are much safer than trucks or trains for transporting petroleum products.
Plantation Pipe Line Company is a 3,100-mile pipeline system that serves various metropolitan areas in the southeastern United States, including Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, Ga., Charlotte, N.C. and the Washington, D.C. area. In addition, it delivers jet fuel to major airports in these metropolitan areas. Plantation, which is connected to nine major refineries, delivered over 618,000 barrels of refined petroleum products per day in 2001. The company is owned 51 percent by KMP and 49 percent by ExxonMobil Pipeline Company.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. is the nation's largest pipeline master limited partnership with an enterprise value of approximately $9 billion. KMP owns and operates more than 25,000 miles of pipelines and over 70 terminals. Its pipelines transport more than two million barrels per day of gasoline and other petroleum products and up to 7.8 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. Its terminals handle over 55 million tons of coal and other dry-bulk materials annually and have a liquids storage capacity of approximately 55 million barrels for petroleum products and chemicals. KMP is also the leading provider in the U.S. of CO2, which is used in enhanced oil recovery projects.
The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI - News), one of the largest midstream energy companies in America. Combined, the two companies have an enterprise value of approximately $17 billion.
| 
Articles 
| View all PennWell sites | View all PennWell events
Add RSS Feed
