By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 13 -- Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP), Houston, has begun service on its $30 million intrastate natural gas pipeline from Katy to Austin, Tex. KMP acquired the 130-mile section of crude oil line in December 2003, converted it to 170 MMcfd natural gas service, and added a 5-mile lateral to serve a municipal power plant.
In addition Kinder Morgan Inc. completed and placed into service a $20 million, 58-mile natural gas pipeline to serve its retail customers between Montrose and Ouray, Colo.
2004 projects planned
Kinder Morgan plans to invest $650 million this year on expansion projects. All except TransColorado are KMP projects:
· About 70 miles of new 20-inch pipe will replace an existing 14-in. common carrier products pipeline between Concord and Sacramento in northern California. The $88 million project is expected to be in service by yearend.
· KMP is investing $18 million this year on its $200 million multi-year East Line Expansion project to increase capacity on products pipelines from El Paso, Tex., to Tucson and Phoenix, Ariz. The expansion is slated for completion by yearend 2005 or early 2006.
· More than $300 million is being invested at the Sacroc and Yates fields in West Texas to enhance oil recovery from carbon dioxide injection. The company expects to reach 30,000 b/d of average oil production this year at the Sacroc unit and 20,000 b/d at Yates.
· Service commenced July 1 on the $28.4 million Cheyenne Market Center project in Colorado and Nebraska that provides natural gas suppliers in the Rocky Mountain region with 6 bcf of additional storage capacity.
· KMP is investing about $19 million at the Carteret terminal in New York Harbor to add 600,000 bbl of storage capacity. Three 100,000 bbl tanks were completed last week and three more are expected to come on line in December. The company also is building a $20 million cement facility at its Dakota Terminal in St. Paul, Minn.
· The $33 million TransColorado expansion project from northwestern Colorado to northern New Mexico, to be completed in August, will increase firm transportation capacity on the natural gas pipeline to 425,000 Mcfd from 300,000 Mcfd.