Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, Houston, Monday announced a 10-year processing agreement with Duke Energy Merchants, a unit of Duke Energy Corp., at KMP's transmix processing facilities in Indianola, Pa., Hartford, Ill., and Richmond, Va. Duke Energy Merchants will market the product. Transmix is a by-product of refined products pipeline operations created by the mixing of different specification products during pipeline transportation. Transmix processing breaks the mixed products back into specification products, such as unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Beijing, completed a 3-year revamping and expansion project at its Qilu refinery. Qilu's sour crude capacity was increased to 6 million tons/year, making it one of China's major refineries for the processing of imported crude. All five revamped units and the three new units are in operation. The new units include a hydrocracker, a terephthalic acid (TPA) continuous reformer, and a sulfur recovery unit.
ATCO Midstream, Calgary, plans to buy Wolcott Gas Processing Ltd., Calgary, to triple its processing capacity. Details of the deal were withheld. The acquisition includes a 12% working interest and operatorship of a 1.1 bcfd gas liquids processing plant near Empress, Alta. ATCO also will obtain interests in processing plants near Grande Prairie and Drayton Valley in Alberta and in southeastern Saskatchewan. The deal will increase ATCO�s gas processing capacity to 1.9 bcfd.
A unit of Williams, Tulsa, Monday announced the closing of its purchase of a 49.25% interest in the ACCROVEN project in Venezuela from TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. Financial terms were not disclosed for Williams' share of the project in the Eastern Cryogenic Complex of Venezuela. The project includes the construction and operation of two 400 MMcfd natural gas liquids extraction plants, a 50,000 b/d gas liquids fractionation plant, and associated storage and refrigeration facilities for Petroleos de Venezuela SA. Construction began in mid-1999, and the three plants are slated to begin operating in May.