The state of Texas is very proud to say we have a city nicknamed “The Energy Capitol of the World” here. However, Houston is not the only place in this amazing state where energy is taken seriously. I don’t think I am over stepping any bounds by saying we could have an additional state motto: “Energy, it’s kinda our thing.” That just works for so many cites and not just the located in The Eagle Ford, The Permian Basin and The Barnett Shale.
Horizontal drilling is just one of the reasons for so much increased production of NGL’s (natural gas liquids). With three different shale plays giving us as much as we can possibly get out, and all located in this great state, energy companies are not stopping anytime soon. Yes, they may have slowed down recently, but stopping? Not a chance.
Surprise! The State of Texas once again can boast about having the most of something. That something is miles and miles of intrastate natural gas pipelines. Intrastate pipelines are just that, pipelines that operate within the state’s boarders. Below are some highlights of the natural gas pipelines in the state of Texas from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s website.
- Texas is the top ranked natural gas consuming State.
- Intrastate pipelines in Texas account for 45,000 of the 58,600 miles of natural gas pipelines in the State.
- The largest intrastate pipelines in Texas are Enterprise Texas Pipeline Company (8,750 miles) and the Energy Transfer Partners LP (8,800 miles).
- The intrastate network in Texas has experienced significant growth over the past several years as a result of increased demand for pipeline capacity caused by the rapid development and expansion of natural gas production in the Barnett Shale Formation.
- New pipelines have been built, and expansions to existing ones undertaken, to meet increased demand.
The energy companies in Texas are capitalizing on the shale gas coming from Texas basins. To ensure that they can meet the need of national and international consumers, they are adding to the massive amounts of natural gas pipeline. Again, there has been a downturn in the price of natural gas but the companies involved are trying to be proactive and expect the midstream sector to increase. This pipeline expansion will have them poised and ready. The project is going to add 60 miles of new pipeline, pumps and other midstream related equipment to the Panola Pipeline.
The Panola Pipeline is already a 181 mile pipeline that runs from Carthage, TX to Mont Belvieu, TX. This expansion will increase the capacity by 50,000 barrels per day (bbd). The companies in the project, Enterprise Products Partners LP, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., DCP Midstream Partners LP, and MarkWest Energy Partners LP, are stating the project will be completed and online by the first quarter of 2016.
So, once again, Texas is grabbing its economic future by the longhorns and taking it down the path it feels will continue to make this state so successful.
References:
http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publications/ngpipeline/intrastate.html
http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/165745/anadarko-petroleum-apc-joins-panola-pipeline-jv-in-texas
http://www.wsj.com/articles/plunging-oil-prices-test-texas-economic-boom-1420428781
