WORLD PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION PLANS SHOW INCREASE INTO NEXT CENTURY

A.D. Koen
Senior Editor-News

Warren R. True
Pipeline/Gas Processing Editor

Pipeline Mileage Construction, 1995 and Beyond (68712 bytes)

Plans for worldwide pipeline construction into the next century increased in the past year, especially for developing regions of Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

Many of the projects involve large capacity, international gas pipeline systems.

By contrast, pipeline construction in Canada, the U.S., and Europe will decline.

Those trends and others are revealed in the latest Oil & Gas Journal pipeline construction data, derived from a survey of world pipeline operators, industry sources, and published information.

More than 61,000 miles of crude oil, product, and natural gas pipeline are to be built in 1995 and beyond. However, pipeline construction to occur by yearend 1995 will set virtually the same pace as in 1993, a year in which planned pipeline mileage amounted to more than 16,300 miles at an installation cost of nearly $14 billion. Companies in 1995 will lay about the same number of miles of line but expect to spend less than $10.5 billion.

For projects completed after 1995, companies expect to spend another $28.9 billion to lay nearly 45,000 miles of line. Last year, when these companies looked beyond 1994, they added about 38,700 miles to their projections and an additional cost of $32.7 billion.

Projections of 1995 pipeline mileage reflect only projects expected to be completed by yearend, including construction in progress at the first of the year or set to begin during 1995.

Projections for mileage in 1995 and beyond include construction that might begin this year but will be completed in 1996 or later. Some certain to be built projects were included even though sponsors will not break ground until 1996 or later.

Cost estimates are based on U.S. average cost per mile for onshore and offshore construction as determined by OGJ's most recent annual pipeline economics report (OGJ, Nov. 21, 1994, p. 41).

Cost projections assume 90% of all construction will be onshore and 10% offshore. Pipelines of 32 in. OD or larger are assumed to be onshore projects. Here is a breakout of costs by line diameter:

Total onshore construction for 1995 will cost $9.7 billion-$2.5 billion for 4-10 in. pipelines, $3.4 billion for 12-20 in., $2.2 billion for 22-30 in., and $1.6 billion for 32 in. and larger.
Total offshore construction for 1995 will cost nearly $771 million$236 million for 4-10 in. pipelines, $323.5 million for 12-20 in., and $211 million for 22-30 in.
Total onshore construction for 1995 and beyond will cost $27.2 billion-$2.6 billion for 4-10 in. pipelines, $9 billion for 12-20 in., $5.9 billion for 22-30 in., and $9.7 billion for 32 in. and larger.
Total offshore construction for 1995 and beyond will cost $1.67 billion-$245 million for 4-10 in. pipelines, $861 million for 12-20 in., and $560 million for 22-30 in.

SERVING EUROPE'S MARKETS

Pipeline Construction in 1995 (37926 bytes)

While construction projects in South America and Asia-Pacific showed the greatest gain in raw mileage, perhaps the world's most focused pipelaying activity in the past year centered around plans to expand the international gas grid serving European markets.

Most reported progress involved efforts to install large diameter, international pipeline systems to transport gas from fields in the North Sea, North Africa, and Russia.

Among many projects aiming to serve European markets was a list revealed in December 1994, when Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS let contracts to British, Italian, French, German, and Japanese manufacturers worth about $1.2 billion combined for delivery of 1.5 billion metric tons of steel during 1995-99. Press reports indicated Statoil will become the world's leading steel buyer for the rest of the 1990s on the strength of the orders (OGJ, Dec. 12, 1994, P. 32).

The steel is to be rolled into lengths of 40 in. pipe for five large gas pipelines with combined construction costs estimated at $4.5 billion. The proposed projects, destined to transport gas from North Sea fields on the Norwegian continental shelf to markets in Europe, will require more than 1,600 miles of 40 in. line, including:

Zeepipe IIB, a 184 mile line to transport gas from Nor-way's Kollsnes terminal to a North Sea transmission hub on Block 16/11 beginning in October 1997.
Europipe 11, a 415 mile line along the same route as Europipe 1 to link Block 16/11 to an onshore terminal at Emden, Germany.
Zeepipe IV, a 535-560 mile line to Zeebrugge, Belgium, or Dunkirk, France, from Sleipner field.
An estimated 95 mile loop around Ekofisk field to avoid an area of seabed subsidence.
A 375 mile line linking the Haltenbanken area to the North Sea gas grid.

Design is under way on Zeepipe IIB, and construction is to occur mostly in 1996. Next in line is to be either Europipe II or Zeepipe IV, with Statoil expected to make its choice in time to submit plans to authorities by mid-February. Statoil expects to begin letting pipelaying contracts this spring for the projects, with work on all five projects to be under way by 1999.

Gaz de France earlier this year agreed in a 26 year contract with the Norwegian Gas Negotiating Committee, which includes Statoil, Norsk Hydro, and Saga Petroleum AS, to take more than 1.4 tcf of gas beginning in 2001. Shipments are to come ashore at Dunkirk through a pipeline to be complete by October 1998, peaking in 2005 at 70 bcf.

The sale is expected to boost Norwegian gas deliveries to France in 2005 to nearly 530 bcf, or about 35% of the French gas market.

OTHER NORTH SEA PIPELINES

Statoil last year recorded substantial progress on other North Sea gas pipeline projects.

Under a $13.6 million contract with Statoil, Halliburton Energy Services from its Tanager, Norway, office in November 1994 began commissioning Europipe I facilities at riser platforms 16/11-S and 16/11-E on Block 16/11. Halliburton mostly is to remove weld blisters and clean, rinse, pressure test, and dry the system before introducing gas into Europipe I beginning next summer. Halliburton also is to commission Zeepipe IIA when that 188 mile line goes on line in spring 1996 between Kollsnes and the Sleipner platform.

Europipe I is to begin operating in October. Statoil in early November 1994 pulled Europipe I and II through the 1.27 mile long tunnel needed to install the pipeline under sensitive German wetlands and installed the final 150 m of the 50 km land segment of the line to a terminal near Emden, Germany. The pipeline extending seaward from Europipe's tunnel is to be tied in February into the 40 in. subsea line coming from Block 16/11. Contractors finished drilling the Europipe tunnel in May 1994.

Statoil in summer 1994 began laying Zeepipe IIA from a point in about 260 ft of water east of the Sleipner East platform where the line was temporarily abandoned in 1991. About 143 miles of 40 in. line was to be installed subsea last year to a point in 750 ft of water near the Norwegian Trench. Remaining Zeepipe IIA facilities are to be installed in 1995, including the Norwegian Trench crossing at a depth of about 1,150 ft, a technical feat considered impossible with large diameter pipe until the past decade.

Meantime, in fourth quarter 1994, Russia's Gazprom said it had agreed in a draft document to route the proposed 3,100 mile Yamal-Europe gas pipeline through Belarus and Poland. Russian leaders in 1993 said the pipeline could earmark as much as 1.35 bcfd for Polish markets.

Despite estimates that Yamal could yield as much as 7 tcf /year of gas once it is developed, questions remained at yearend 1994 about how the $2.5 billion pipelay project would be financed.

GERMAN PIPELINES EXPAND

Statoil and Norsk Hydro in fourth quarter 1994 said they will take part in gas pipeline expansions in Germany through ownership in a newly formed company (OGJ, Oct. 24,1994, p. 36).

Norddeutsche Erdgas-Transversale GmbH (Netra) is to undertake a $665 million project to build and operate a pipeline from Etzel to Salzwedel. The 47 in., 181 mile line is to transport 560630 bcf /year of Norwegian gas to markets in eastern Germany, entering the country through the terminal at Emden.

Netra partners and their shares of interest are: BEB Ergas & Erdol GmbH (BEB), Hanover, and Ruhrgas AG, Essen, 37.5% each; Statoil 18.75%; and Norsk Hydro 6.25%.

The project marks Statoil's first involvement in a dedicated gas supply project abroad. It also is Norsk Hydro's first overseas, downstream gas pipeline venture.

A 105 mile segment of Netra's Etzel-Salzwedel gas pipeline was built beginning in 1991 by BEB and Ruhrgas and has been operational since 1992. The two companies last fall completed a 41 mile section from Wardenburg to Achim, both in Germany. The final 35 miles of the system are to be installed in 1995.

Netra partners said the Etzel-Salzwedel line will combine with a 112 mile, 42 in. segment commissioned beginning in December 1994 between Salzwedel and Bernau, northeast of Berlin. The $336 million pipeline was built 50-50 by Ruhrgas and Verbundnetz Gas AG, Leipzig (OGJ, Apr.4, 1994, p. 33).

Existing gas contracts call for Norwegian supplies entering Germany to triple in 2005, climbing to more than 1.05 tcf/year from 385 bcf/year in 1994. That will amount to nearly one third of Germany's gas demand in 2005.

PIPELINES IN THE U.K.

Pipeline Construction in 1995 and Beyond (41129 bytes)

Just before yearend 1994 a group led by British Gas plc agreed to form Interconnector (U.K.) Ltd. to lay the proposed 150 mile, 40 in. Interconnector pipeline, the first gas pipeline link between England and continental Europe (OGJ, Dec. 19, 1994, p. 26).

Interconnector is to link the British gas grid at Bacton with the Belgium gas grid through a connection at Zeebrugge.

Pending submission in early 1995 of a planning application, construction of Interconnector could begin as early as spring 1996. Start of construction in first half 1996 would allow partners to place the $1.73 billion pipeline in service as early as October 1998 with more than 1.93 bcfd of capacity

Statoil and Norsk Hydro pulled out of the interconnector group in a dispute involving a new Frigg gas pipeline treaty between Norway and the U.K.

Principal Interconnector partner British Gas holds a 40% interest in the project; British Petroleum Co. plc, Conoco U.K. Ltd., Elf U.K. plc, and Gazprom 10% each; and National Power plc, Amerada Hess Ltd., Distrigaz SA, and Ruhrgas AG 5% each.

Also just before yearend 1994, the Premier Transco Ltd. unit of British Gas let a contract to European Marine Contractors (EMC), a 50-50 venture of Brown & Root Inc. and Saipem, for services including detailed engineering, installation, and precommissioning of a subsea pipeline to transport gas from the Bord Gais Eireann (BGE) interconnect near Twynholm, Scotland, to the Ballylumford power station at Larne, Northern Ireland. The power station is being converted to a gas burning unit from oil.

Mechanical completion of the 25 mile, 24 in. BGE-Ballylumford pipeline is expected in August 1996, with first gas to flow later that year. Detailed design of the system was nearly complete at yearend, and line pipe production had begun at the Hartlepool, England, plant of British Steel. Landfall construction for the pipeline is to begin in midsummer 1995, with installation to start in September.

EMC is to use the Castoro Sei semisubmersible laybarge to install the line across the North Channel at a point where the seabed drops away to a depth of more than 590 ft.

EUROPEAN AND AFRICAN GAS

Efforts advanced significantly in the past year to set the stage to deliver more African gas to customers across Europe.

Construction is to be well under way this summer on most segments of the 865 mile Maghreb-Europe pipeline. Completion by yearend 1996 of the project's $1.5 billion first phase will add 700 MMcfd of transportation capacity from Hassi R'Mel field in Algeria across North Africa and the Strait of Gibraltar to a connection near Cordoba with the Spanish gas grid.

More compression could boost the Maghreb-Europe line's capacity to 1.5 bcfd, providing a pathway for Algerian gas into Portugal, France, and Germany. Algeria's Sonatrach holds gas-sales contracts with Portuguese, German, and French customers.

Maghreb-Europe Phase I construction is to include 330 miles of 48 in. line in Algeria from Hassi R'Mel to the Moroccan border; 335 miles of 48 in. across Morocco to a point at the coast near Tangier; 20 miles of twin 22 in. subsea lines from the coast of Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain; and 170 miles of 36 in. and 48 in. from landfall in Spain to Cordoba.

Spain expects to spend more than $3 billion through 2004 to expand its gas pipeline system to about 27,340 miles from about 3,555 last year (OGJ, July 25, 1994, p. 32). Another $1.89 billion is expected to be spent laying spurs and installing interconnects with the French and Portuguese gas grids.

In Portugal, Soc. Portuguesa de Gas Natural SA (Portugas) in July 1994 began laying a 233 mile north-south gas trunk line between Setubal, on the coast southwest of Lisbon, to Braga in the far north (OGJ, Sept. 26, 1994, p. 44). Included in the system is about 124 miles of spurs feeding four regional gas distribution companies. Portugas expected to complete about 20% of the pipeline in 1994.

In addition, Portugas plans to construct a 128 mile trunk line to transport gas from the Spanish border to the Setubal-Braga pipeline system and extend the north-south trunk line about another 44 miles beyond Braga to connect with the Spanish gas grid at Tuy. That would allow Portugal to receive gas from Norway or Netherlands.

TRANS-MED DETAILS

Meantime, after about 2 years of construction, capacity is set to double to about 2.5 bcfd on the trans-Mediterranean gas pipeline from Algeria to Italy Work has progressed at the same time on segments in Tunisia and Sicily, across the Sicily Channel and Strait of Messina, and along the Italian peninsula. Adding one to three compression units after 1995 could boost capacity to as much as 2.9 bcfd.

When complete, more than 1,366 miles of new lines will have been laid for trans-Med's expansion from the Algerian-Tunisian border to Minerbio, Italy, including about 1,248 miles of 48 in. and 118 miles of dual 26 in. on subsea crossings of the Sicily Channel and Strait of Messina. The new lines parallel the full length of the original one, except for the stretch crossing the Strait of Messina and the spread in Italy between Melizzano in Campania and Gallese, north of Rome.

Trans-Med's 900 mile, 48-in. expansion in Italy is to start up by summer 1995, with throughput remotely controlled from the dispatching center in San Donato Milanese. Trans-Med's 230 mile, 48-in. Tunisian section also is to be operational by next summer, with activity remotely controlled from the compressor station at Cape Bon, Tunisia. More than half the Tunisian segment was complete at yearend 1994, with the 64-mile north section from Qued R'Mel to Cape Bon and the 62-mile south section from Feriana to Sbeitla in operation.

In Sicily, nearly two-thirds of trans-Med's 350 km 48-in. line from Mazara del Vallo to Messina had been installed by yearend next to the existing 48-in. line. Work in Sicily is to be complete in 1996.

CASPIAN SEA PIPELINE

Among the biggest pipeline projects taking shape is a proposal by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) to lay a crude oil export system that ultimately could span 930 miles, including a segment already in place, from Kazakhstan to the east coast of the Black Sea (OGJ, Jan. 30, p. 38).

Construction is to begin in January 1996 on the first 155 mile leg. Shippers are to begin moving oil through the leg by January 1997.

Oil is to be delivered into the line from fields in western Siberia, the Volga-Ural region, and western Kazakhstan through an existing 28 in. pipeline from Kropotkin to Tikhoretsk, Russia.

Ultimate export capacity could approach 2 million b/d.

MIDDLE EAST PIPELINES

Plans began firming in fourth quarter 1994 for the proposed Oman to India gas pipeline that would match the former's gas supply with the latter's rising gas demand (OGJ, Oct. 10, 1994, p. 30). The $5 billion, mostly subsea pipeline would consist of two parallel 24 in. lines to be installed in two phases.

Design packages for the 1 bcfd first phase were to be available to bidders by yearend 1994. Contracts worth about $2.7 billion are to be let about mid-1995, in time for field work to begin about mid-1997. The second 985 mile, 24 in. line will boost capacity after 2001 to about 2.12 bcfd.

Meantime, the Brown & Root Inc. unit of Halliburton at mid-1994 said it will cosponsor and serve as turnkey contractor on a second large diameter gas pipeline from the Middle East to India, this one for supplies from Qatar (OGJ, May 2,1994, p. 44). Phase 1 construction on the $3.2 billion pipeline is to begin in early 1996 with installation of 995 miles of 40 in. pipe. About 930 miles of the pipeline is to be subsea.

Also in India, Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) is on schedule to begin shipments in spring 1995 through India's longest petroleum products pipeline. The new 22 in. main line and the system's 10 in. and 14 in. spurs are to have enough capacity to transport as much as 126,000 b/d of products from Kanda on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat state over an 827 mile route to Bhatinda in Punjab state, about half the volume expected to be needed in 2004 to sustain regional agricultural activity. IOC later could boost capacity to more than 240,000 b/d.

ASIA-PACIFIC ACTIVITY

Gas is to start flowing late this year through Asia-Pacific's longest large diameter, subsea pipeline, the 440 n-tile, 40 in. system linking the $1.2 billion Yacheng 13-1 development south of Hainan Island in the South China Sea with Hong Kong.

Deliveries through the pipeline to the new Black Point power station near Hong Kong could peak at more than 330 MMcfd. A separate 60 mile, 14 inch line is to transport as much as 60 MMcfd of gas and gas liquids to Hainan.

Divers in December were to install the system's final 30 m section at Yacheng 13-1 production platform. Project pipelay contractor SEJV, a joint venture of EMC and Saipam, finished installing the Yacheng-Hong Kong gas line last May (OGJ, June 6,1994, p. 41).

Meantime, units of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) in March 1994 let a contract to Italy's Snamprogetti for joint design of the first leg of a 2,050 mile pipeline to transport crude oil from Tarim basin fields to markets in eastern China. Snamprogetti's initial work is to cover basic and detailed engineering of a 310 mile, 26 in. pipeline from Korla to Shanshan, both in Central Xinjiang province.

Also in mid-1994, CNPC said it was studying plans to lay a 1,250 mile petroleum products pipeline from Sichuan province in Central China, to Hainan Island to be fed by refineries along the route, notably at the southern Chinese cities of Maoming, Zhanjian, Beihai, and Huizhou. Work on the $575 million project could start later this decade.

In Queensland, Australia, the Tenneco Gas unit of Tenneco Inc. in June 1995 is to begin laying 470 miles of 16 in. pipeline (OGJ, Jan. 23, p. 67). The $170 million system by yearend 1996 is to begin transporting gas from fields in southwestern Queensland to existing distribution systems in the southeast part of the state serving cities including Brisbane and Gladstone.

In Japan, construction began last year with completion scheduled by mid-1996 on a 155 mile, 20 in. pipeline from Niigata on Japan's west coast to Sendai City in Niyagi Prefecture on the Pacific Ocean. It is the first segment of a large gas distribution network that by 2005 could be handling as much as 82.6 million metric tons/year of regasified LNG. Initial capacity is to be about 159 MMcfd. Envisioned is a 2,050 mile nationwide system.

SOUTH AMERICAN GAS LINES

Plans firmed throughout 1994 for large international gas pipeline projects that collectively will form a multinational gas grid linking supplies and markets in several southern South American countries.

Construction is to begin this year with first gas to flow in 1997 on projects to transport gas from Argentina to markets in Brazil and Chile. British Gas and Tenneco figure prominently in both deals.

In April, the two were among 10 companies that agreed to construct a $1.5 billion gas pipeline system to move Argentine gas to Chile (OGJ, May 9, 1994, p. 24). Included in the project is a 750 mile transmission system and about 5,000 miles of distribution lines and related gas fired power projects.

In a related development, the BHP Power Inc. unit of Australia's Broken Hill Pty. Co. Ltd. agreed last summer to study the feasibility of a 685 mile pipeline to transport gas from Bolivia to proposed gas fired power projects in northern Chile.

Meantime, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) in August said it had chosen the BTB group to develop the Brazilian portion of a 2,000 mile gas pipeline system to deliver Argentine and Bolivian gas to Brazil (OGJ, Aug. 22, 1994, p. 24). BTB group members are British Gas, Tenneco, and BHP Power.

The Bolivia-Brazil pipeline is to run east from a connection with existing lines south of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. An interconnect at Rio de Janeiro is to allow distribution of gas to markets there and at Belo Horizonte to the north.

The Enron Development Corp. unit of Enron Corp., Houston, late in 1994 confirmed terms of an agreement with Bolivian state company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) to build and operate the $400 million Bolivian portion of the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline project (OGJ, Dec. 19, 1994, p. 38).

PIPELINES IN COLOMBIA

Enron about mid-1994 agreed to construct Colombia's first big gas transportation pipeline. Colombian state company Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos (Ecopetrol) is to have 100% of the new pipeline's capacity in its first 15 years of operation (OGJ, May 23, 1994, p. 29). Work began last year on the $190 million line, with gas to begin moving by yearend through the 357 mile, 18 in. system into the Barrancabermeja area.

In late third quarter 1994, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., Calgary, and IPL Energy Inc., Edmonton, Alta., agreed to take a joint 35-40% interest in a proposed $2.5 billion, 490 mile oil pipeline system linking Colombia's Cusiana and Cupiagua oil fields with storage and port facilities at Covenas on the Caribbean coast.

Oil was to begin flowing late last year through the system, with capacity to rise in 1995 to 150,000-185,000 b/d and to about 500,000 b/d in 1997 with completion.

TRANSCANADA IN NORTH AMERICA

TransCanada in 1994 slowed expansion of its Canadian gas pipeline network.

The company last year spent about $465 million adding gas transportation facilities, including installations of seven large compressors and 97 miles of pipeline in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Projects in those two provinces boosted TransCanada's system capacity by 430 MMcfd to 7.3 bcfd.

Deliveries on TransCanada's main line in 1994 reached a record 2.22 tcf, including about 1 tcf of exports, up from 2.13 tcf in 1993.

TransCanada is a 50-50 partner with Sierra Pacific Resources in the proposed $125 million Tuscarora pipeline, a 229 mile line to take gas from the system of Pacific Gas Transmission Co. for markets in Northeast California and northern Nevada. Work on the project is to begin in 1995, pending approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

TransCanada also holds a 30% interest in the proposed $650 million SunShine interstate gas pipeline system, to begin delivering gas from Mississippi and Alabama to markets in Florida as early as mid-] 996.

SunShine's interstate operating unit, SunShine Interstate Transmission Co., has received FERC approval of all non-environmental aspects of its application and expects final authorization in spring 1995.

The route of SunShine Pipeline Co. in Florida has received approval from state environmental officials. The Florida Public Service Commission is expected to issue a final certificate in first quarter 1995.

Also in Florida, state environmental officials in September 1994 ordered Florida Gas Transmission Co. (FGT) to stop working on its 530 MMcfd, 815 mile system Phase 3 expansion. State officials said FGT contractors had been responsible for at least 38 permit violations, including destruction of wetlands, clearing land improperly, and damaging waterways.

GULF OF MEXICO PIPELINES

Some of the world's most notable offshore pipeline projects in 1994 centered in the Gulf of Mexico, where pipeline companies were extending gathering systems into the gulf's deep water.

In early December, Shell Pipe Line Corp. said it will begin this year laying about 125 miles of 20 in. oil pipeline to deepwater wells in Ewing Bank, Green Canyon, and Eugene Island federal planning areas. On the same day, Leviathan Gas Pipeline Partners LP announced plans for its Poseidon Pipeline project, aimed at linking up with deepwater oil and gas projects in the Ship Shoal, Ewing Bank, and Green Canyon areas.

Shell's $100 million subsea gathering system in 1996 would transport as much as 200,000 b/d of oil from deepwater developments sites in the central gulf.

About 100 miles of line are to connect wells in Green Canyon and Ewing Bank areas to Shell's Mars pipeline and to Louisiana Offshore Oil Port's storage facility at Clovelly, La. A 25 mile span is to transport oil from Shell's Auger tension leg platform on Garden Banks Block 426 and other proposed deepwater projects in the area to Bonita and Eugene Island crude oil pipelines for shipment to storage facilities at St. James, La.

Leviathan set the stage for its Poseidon project by acquiring full ownership of the Placid Green Canyon pipeline and renaming it Manta Ray gathering system. Manta Ray facilities consist of 51 miles of idle 16 in. gas line and 14 in. oil line and a platform with processing facilities on Ship Shoal Block 207 capable of handling 40,000 b/d of crude and 120 MMcfd of gas.

Leviathan planned to reactivate Manta Ray's 16 in. gas line to provide more pipeline capacity and market outlets for producers in deep water of Green Canyon and Ship Shoal areas. The 14 in. line is to transport sour crude. Leviathan at yearend was evaluating a major expansion to gather oil from Garden Banks fields.

OTHER GULF ACTIVITY

In June 1994, a joint venture of Tenneco Deep Water Gathering Co. and the Viosca Knoll Deep Water Gathering LLC unit of Leviathan let contracts to OPI International Inc. for two deep-water lines in the eastern part of the central gulf.

OPI was to install 94 miles of 20 in. from South Pass Block 55 to Main Pass Block 252 in water 260-700 ft deep and 6 miles of 16 in. to connect Main Pass Block 289 to Viosca Knoll Block 817.

In July, Dauphin Island Gathering System (DIGS) partners let a contract to OPI to connect DIGS to a series of wells in the Mobile and Viosca Knoll areas. OPI was to install: 21.3 miles of 20 in. line from Mobile 822 to Mobile 916; 1.6 miles of 8 in. on Viosca Knoll 31; 2.4 miles of 8 in. at Mobile 914; and 28.7 miles of 12 in. from Mobile 821 to Viosca Knoll 35.

OTHER U.S. ACTIVITY

FERC in November gave preliminary approval to a request by Mojave Pipeline Co. to add 476 MMcfd of capacity to serve markets in northern California. The decision followed a FERC ruling in early 1994 that the expansion should be regulated by FERC as an interstate pipeline.

Included in Mojave's California expansion is a 30 in. main line from the pipeline's current terminus near Bakersfield to Ripon, a 16 in. line to Sacramento, and a westbound 20 in. pipeline to move gas to San Francisco, Martinez, and Palo Alto.

Mojave officials expected a draft environmental impact study (EIS) to be complete last month and a final EIS in April 1995. That timetable would allow construction to begin by summer 1995 and project start up in mid 1996.

Efforts in 1994 to boost capacity of oil pipelines serving inland U.S. markets were buoyed in the fourth quarter when Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc. (IPL), Edmonton, began starting up a $405 million, 170,000 b/d expansion between Canada and the U.S.

IPL expected to have about 70,000 b/d of new capacity on stream in December 1995, with expansion components fully in operation by mid-1995 (OGJ, Nov. 21, 1994, P. 23).

When IPLs Line 13 expansion is complete, the company will be able to ship oil produced in western Canada from Hardisty, Alta., to Clearbrook, Minn., through a combination of new, reactivated, and rededicated 16 in., 18 in., and 20 in. pipelines. Combined with facilities being built by IPL affiliate Lakehead Pipe Line Co. Inc., expanded system components will be able to deliver as much as 145,000 b/d of oil to refiners in the Chicago area.

In the 3 years before it began expanding its facilities, requests by producers in western Canada to ship crude into the U.S. through the IPL-Lakehead route surpassed capacity by as much as 55%.