Underground Infrastructure - November 2023 - 14

U.S. Midstream
ing up to 13.5 mtpa each, and Cameron
LNG's 6.75 mtpa Train 4.
" I think some producers got a little
bit ahead of their skis last year and
maybe didn't really appreciate how long
some of these facilities would take to
come online, " Bakshani said. " But that
helps from a midstream angle, because
these pipeline projects are also going to
take some time to come online. "
Pipelines take lead
Natural gas pipeline projects supporting
Gulf Coast LNG markets range from
new and expanded gathering systems,
long-haul pipe construction, compression
expansions and so-called " last mile "
pipe connecting large transmission systems
to specific areas and facilities.
" There is still some growth from industrial
demand, and some expected
growth in continued higher natural
gas exports to Mexico, " Eugene Kim,
Wood Mackenzie's research director for
Americas gas, said. " But the real driver
on the demand side is LNG, and the
drivers on the production growth side
in the near term is going to be from the
Permian and the Haynesville. "
Kim agrees that LNG expansion
timelines can be fickle, and there will
generally be initial periods of underutilization
for new pipelines built or expanded
to supply them, although the
impact of those gaps will vary. Energy
Transfer, for instance, has already finished
construction of the 1.65 Bcf/d
Gulf Run pipeline to move gas from
north Louisiana to the coast.
That project, which Energy Transfer
gained via its acquisition of Enable
Midstream in December 2021, is
backed by a 20-year agreement with the
$10 billion Golden Pass LNG export
plant now under construction in Texas
by QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil.
" Golden Pass will not be completed
until the second half of 2024, but Gulf
Run is already online, so there's a mismatch
in timing, " Kim said. " As a result,
Gulf Run is not fully utilized right now,
and you might get a similar situation
with some of these other pipelines that
are intending to deliver into those LNG
facilities - and there are a lot of them. "
Pipelines that don't have a large percentage
of their capacity tied to a single
producer, as with Gulf Run and Golden
Pass, might be keener to time project
completions more closely with the onset
of demand, but it's essential to get
supporting infrastructure in place first.
" They want to make sure that when the
LNG terminal is turned on, that there's
dedicated piped supply that can flow into
it, " Kim said, " because the capital investment
on the liquefaction is much greater
than a pipe project would be. "
Permian heads east
While most of the Permian Basin natural
gas pipelines built in recent years have
targeted LNG export markets south of
the Houston area, two proposed intrastate
natural gas pipeline projects have
emerged within the past six months to a
goal of delivering Permian Basin gas to
the Texas-Louisiana border region.
The larger of the two, Targa's 562mile
Apex pipeline, was approved by the
Railroad Commission of Texas in late
March. It would originate in Midland
County in West Texas to Jefferson
County, along the Louisiana border
near Sabine Pass.
WhiteWater Midstream's proposed
190-mile greenfield Blackfin Pipeline,
14 NOVEMBER 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
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Underground Infrastructure - November 2023

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