Kinder Morgan pursues Permian-to-California crude pipeline

April 9, 2013
Kinder Morgan Freedom Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, is holding a binding open season to determine industry interest in the development of an oil pipeline to transport crude oil from the Permian basin of West Texas to the refining complexes of northern and southern California.

Kinder Morgan Freedom Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, is holding a binding open season to determine industry interest in the development of an oil pipeline to transport crude oil from the Permian basin of West Texas to the refining complexes of northern and southern California. The 277,000-b/d Kinder Morgan Freedom Pipeline would move crude oil from the Wink-Midland, Tex., area to anticipated intrastate pipeline interconnections near Emidio and Pentland, Calif.

Subject to sufficient customer support and regulatory approvals, Kinder Morgan plans to begin work on the Freedom Pipeline by June 2015 for an in-service date of yearend-2016. The 1,025-mile pipeline will consist of roughly 740 miles of converted El Paso Natural Gas Co. LLC (EPNG) lines, 22 miles of new pipeline as interconnections in California, and 200 miles of pipeline between Wink and El Paso, Tex. Freedom construction will also include tanks in Wink, Midland, and the California delivery points.

New construction will occur in or adjacent to existing right-of-way for almost its entire length. The open season closes May 2.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP and Sunoco Logistics each last year proposed pipelines to bring Permian basin crude to the Texas Gulf Coast. Magellan’s BridgeTex Pipeline would move 278,000 b/d from Colorado City, Tex., to the Houston-Texas City refining complex (OGJ Online, June 12, 2012). Magellan formed a joint venture with Occidental Petroleum Corp. to build BridgeTex—including 2.6-million bbl of storage and 50 miles of pipeline between Houston and Texas City—in November. The companies expect BridgeTex to enter service mid-2014.

Phase 1 of Sunoco’s Permian Express pipeline would move 150,000 b/d from Wichita Falls, Tex., to Nederland-Beaumont (OGJ Online, June 27, 2012), beginning as early as later this quarter.

Contact Christopher E. Smith at [email protected].