North America Spends $4.3bn on New Pipelines in 2013
The North American pipeline industry is in process of spending $4.3 billion on new onshore pipelines in 2013 according to information from a new database, announced by leading energy business research & consulting firm Douglas-Westwood.
DW Analyst, Neha Rustagi, commented that, “the primary motives for newly announced North American onshore pipeline projects are to increase operators’ access to shale plays, relieve bottlenecks in regions such as the US Midwest, satisfy growing demand elsewhere, or replace aging infrastructure.
“The development of unconventional oil and gas extraction technologies has made the pipeline sector in the US extremely dynamic and the timeliness of industry information is therefore critical. A classic example of the rate at which economics in the industry can change is the story of the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline. This is one of the longest to be built in recent US history and was completed in 2009 with the intent to provide Rocky Mountain natural gas to Eastern markets. However, the pipeline became uneconomical just one year later, upon the surge in development of the giant Marcellus shales plays in the Northeastern US.
“Between 2011 and 2012, the number of productive wells in US shale oil plays increased from a few hundred to over 4,000. These developments have left many regions, such as the Northeast and the Bakken, with tremendous supply that is constrained by a lack of takeaway capacity. Where they have not yet been built rail and trucks have become a riskier, more expensive substitute. Pipeline infrastructure is similarly necessary in Canada to enable the transportation of oil from its vast landlocked reserves to both domestic and foreign markets. Output from Alberta’s crude oil reserves, the third largest in the world, has been forecast to increase 26% from 2012 to 2015 and over 5,000 miles of pipeline have been proposed for construction in Canada by 2018. The North American oil, gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) markets will remain dynamic in at least the near-term, making the timeliness of pipeline intelligence critical to strategy development.”
Douglas-Westwood’s (DW) North American Onshore Pipelines Database Service (PDS), launched today, contains a comprehensive, forward-looking list of onshore transmission pipeline installation projects, currently through to 2018, along with selected historical projects, gathering lines and overview analysis. The PDS is updated on a quarterly basis, with the current Q2 2013 edition containing approximately 370 projects representing $4.7 billion of capital expenditure on pipeline installation for the year 2013.
