Houston, 29 July (Argus) — US midstream company Boardwalk Pipeline Partners continues to expand its assets through expansion projects focused on the southern US.
In the second quarter the company formalized its joint venture with Williams Partners to continue development of the Bluegrass NGL pipeline, Boardwalk chief executive Stan Horton said on an earnings call today. That pipeline will transport Marcellus and Utica mixed NGL production to the US Gulf coast.
There are three segments to the proposed pipeline — construction of a pipeline from the Marcellus and Utica shale basins to an interconnection with Texas Gas at Hardinsburg, Kentucky; the conversion of a 600-mile (966km) portion of Texas Gas from Hardinsburg to Eunice, Louisiana; and construction of a pipeline from Eunice to Boardwalk's Sulphur Hub in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Horton said that the Bluegrass pipeline is projected to be on line in late 2015. Boardwalk has filed with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin the process of converting the 600 miles of natural gas pipeline to NGL service, which is expected to take 9-12 months.
Boardwalk is on schedule to start construction in the first half of 2014 on the 550mn cf/d (16mn m³/d) Southeast Market expansion project. The project will provide gas from the Perryville Hub in northern Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. FERC is conducting an environmental assessment on the project and the company expects it to be on line in late 2014.
The company is also proceeding with two pipeline projects that will support electric power generation loads in north Texas and Louisiana, with a combined expected cost of about $50mn.
Construction of the 125mn cf/d project in north Texas is scheduled to begin this quarter with an anticipated in-service date in the first quarter of 2014, Horton said.
Boardwalk has begun construction on the 100mn cf/d project in the Mississippi River corridor and Louisiana, with an expected in-service date in the fourth quarter.
Horton said that Boardwalk has filed with FERC to reclassify 25pc of the Gulf South pipeline as intrastate pipeline. Similar to Bluegrass, Boardwalk repurposed 400 miles of Gulf South to move liquids-rich gas as part of its Flag City processing plant project in southeast Texas. That plant started operations in the second quarter.
In addition to the company's pipeline projects, Boardwalk will begin injecting base gas into the Petal storage cavern in southeast Mississippi. That storage facility will add about 5 Bcf of working gas capacity and is fully contracted.
Boardwalk reported quarterly profits of $70.4mn, an 8pc increase from the same period of 2012.
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