Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp. said its subsidiary Shamrock Logistics Operations LP will study a possible expansion of its 60,000 b/d, pipeline, which carries refined products between Dumas and El Paso, Tex. The study will investigate an expansion of up to 20,000 b/d of capacity. After project approval, said UDS, the expansion should be completed within 12 months.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. has started an enlightenment campaign to dissuade communities from engaging in pipeline vandalism. Uti Ntofon, the chief maintenance engineer for the Port Harcourt area, disclosed that 524 incidents of pipeline breaks were recorded in 1999. Twenty-seven were due to corrosion, he said, while 497 cases arose from vandalism. During the period to May 2000, Utofon declared about 1,500 people lost their lives in the course of vandalizing NNPC pipelines, while trying to steal petroleum products.
A unit of Williams announced plans for a pipeline construction project that will double its capacity to ship refined petroleum products into the Southwest Missouri area. The cost of the project was not disclosed. Williams said the expansion would involve the construction of 17 miles of pipeline near Carthage, Mo. The expansion, expected to be complete by Dec. 1, will also provide increased supply capability into a third-party connecting pipeline serving the Northwest Arkansas region, said Williams.
Promax Energy Inc., Calgary, said it has finished building the final phase of its mainline gas gathering system in the Cessford area of Alberta. Ten wells are producing to the system. Promax plans to add eight more suspended wells by Sept. 30, and hopes to have 35 wells producing to the system by year's end.