Firms pitch pair of natural gas liquids pipelines
Two energy transportation companies are seeking shipper interest in a pair of pipelines to bring natural gas liquids from the Deep Basin of northwestern Alberta to a hub northeast of Edmonton.
Keyera Corp. of Calgary and the Canadian arm of Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., announced Wednesday they are holding an open season process ending May 15 seeking non-binding nominations for volumes on the jointly owned Western Reach Pipeline System.
The 570-kilometre link between the Gordondale area of northwestern Alberta and Fort Saskatchewan would consist of two new pipelines, with one dedicated to a mixture of propane, butane and condensate and the other to segregated condensate service.
The line would run through regions known for liquids-rich formations such as the Mont- ney and Duvernay zones, the companies said. Production from those formations is growing thanks to horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing technology.
“Keyera and Plains believe that separate dedicated pipelines for NGL mix and segregated condensate will benefit customers, avoiding the costs associated with pipelines operating in batch mode,” they said in a news release.
Fort Saskatchewan is an Alberta centre for fractionation, storage, pipeline and terminal facilities, some of which are owned by Plains and Keyera. The companies said they are evaluating proposals to expand those facilities. Plains would construct and operate the system which would be owned equally by both. The lines could be operational by late 2015. Capital cost will be determined once volumes have been confirmed and the engineering design completed.
Keyera announced Mondaya $210-million plan to expand its Simonette gas plant and pipeline gathering system to move more Montney liquids-rich gas.