Texas pipe up and running
Houston-based midstream company Kinder Morgan Energy has begun transporting natural gas on a $30 million pipeline that runs from the eastern Texas town of Katy to Austin, Texas.
The project involved converting a 130-mile section of the pipeline acquired by the company in December 2003 from crude oil to natural gas service and constructing a five-mile lateral section to serve a municipal power plant that is being expanded.
The pipeline adds 170 million cubic feet per day of incremental natural gas capacity to the Austin market and is supported by long- term contracts with local utilities.
The project was part of the company's plan to invest about $650 million on expansion projects this year. Kinder Morgan is currently working on six other pipeline expansion projects located in Texas, California, the Rocky Mountains and the upper east coast.