By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 4 -- Colonial Pipeline Co., Atlanta, plans to construct a series of system improvements to increase deliveries of gasoline and products to eastern North Carolina. The system also will incorporate a smaller expansion in Roanoke, Va.
Colonial said its pipeline, which delivers 93 million gpd of petroleum products, is running at or near capacity, with demand for fuel in eastern North Carolina currently exceeding the available supply about 15% of the year.
In addition, growth in the region's economy and population is expected to continue, Colonial said. The population of the region—including Raleigh, Apex, Selma, and Fayetteville—is forecast to grow significantly during the next 10 years. Selma is already the second largest delivery facility on the Colonial system.
Colonial will replace pumps with stronger units and will reconfigure the pipeline system in North Carolina to take advantage of an existing underutilized 16-in. line. In eastern North Carolina, the current capacity will be increased by more than 115,000 b/d when the project is completed late this year. In Roanoke, delivery capacity will increase by 12,000 b/d.
The expanded service also will position the company "to exercise future plans to extend service to markets further east," said Dwaine Shroyer, Colonial's team leader for strategic planning and business development.
Colonial also plans to start construction in mid-summer on another planned pipeline expansion. Deliveries on its 80,000 b/d line between Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn., will increase to 125,000 b/d by yearend (OGJ Online, Sept. 24, 2002).
