FIG. 5 COMPRESSOR CONSTRUCTION COSTS—ESTIMATED1
1Onshore only. 2Generally includes surveying, engineering, supervision, administration and overhead,
interest, contingencies and allowances for funds used during construction (AFUDC), and regulatory fling fees.
Source: US FERC construction permit flings, July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015
Land
0.90%
Misc. 2
34.08% Equipment
and
material
44.59%
Labor
20.43%
property rose to 11.3%, following a 10.3% drop in 2013. Income as part of investment in carrier property in 2004 stood
at 11.4%, having risen steadily toward that level from 6.8%
in 1998.
Major and nonmajor natural gas pipelines in 2014 reported an industry gas-plant investment of roughly $152 billion,
the highest levels ever, up from about $147 billion in 2013,
more than $142 in 2012, $138.6 billion in 2011, $124.7 billion in 2010, almost $121.3 billion in 2009, nearly $105.8
billion in 2008, and $95.5 billion in 2007.
Investment in oil pipeline carrier property continued to
surge in 2014, to more than double the values seen just 7
years before, reaching nearly $85 billion after hitting $68
billion in 2013, topping $54 billion in 2012, hitting roughly
$49 billion in 2011, more than $45 billion in 2010, roughly
$42 billion in 2009, $39 billion in 2008, almost $36 billion
in 2007, and beginning its current upward momentum in
2006, rising to $32.7 billion from the lowest level seen since
at least 1997, $29.5 billion in 2005.
OGJ for many years has tracked carrier-property investment by five crude oil pipeline and five products pipeline
companies chosen as representative in terms of physical systems and expenditures (Table 3). In 2003, we added the base
carrier-property investment to allow for comparisons among
the anonymous companies.
The five crude oil pipeline companies in 2014 increased
their overall investment in carrier property by more than
$3.7 billion ( 49.3%), accelerating the smaller gains seen in
2013 and 2012 and reflecting the activity seen in the segment as a whole. All of the companies increased investment
in carrier property, but nearly all ($3.6 billion) of the overall
gain came from a single operator.
The five products pipeline companies also saw their over-
The FERC made an additional change to reporting re-
quirements for 1995 for both crude oil and petroleum prod-
ucts pipelines. Exempt from requirements to prepare and
file a Form 6 were those pipelines with operating revenues
at or less than $350,000 for each of the 3 preceding calendar
years. These companies must now file only an “Annual Cost
of Service Based Analysis Schedule,” which provides only to-
tal annual cost of service, actual operating revenues, and total
throughput in both deliveries and barrel-miles.
In 1996 major natural gas pipeline companies were no longer required to report miles of gathering and storage systems
separately from transmission. Thus, total miles operated for
gas pipelines consist almost entirely of transmission mileage.
FERC-regulated major natural gas pipeline mileage rose
marginally in 2014 (Table 1), final data showing an increase
of 279 miles, or 0.15%.
Rankings; activity
Natural gas pipeline companies in 2014 saw operating revenues rise by more than $3.2 billion or roughly 15% from
2013, continuing the gains seen the past few years. Net incomes also returned to growth, climbing more than $473
million (about 11%), to roughly the levels seen in 2012.
Oil pipelines fared even better, with earnings rising nearly $2.6 billion ( 37.1%) on the back of a more than $3.6 billion ( 22.6%) increase in revenues (Table 2). Crude deliveries
for 2014 increased by roughly 1. 2 billion bbl or 14.4%, while
product deliveries rose 409 million bbl ( 6.3%).
OGJ uses the FERC annual report data to rank the top
10 pipeline companies in three categories (miles operated,
trunkline traffic, and operating income) for oil pipeline companies and three categories (miles operated, gas transported
for others, and net income) for natural gas pipeline companies.
Positions in these rankings shift year to year, reflecting
normal fluctuations in companies’ activities and fortunes.
But also, because these companies comprise such a large
portion of their respective groups, the listings provide snapshots of overall industry trends and events.
For instance, the growth in overall oil pipeline earnings
was larger than that for the top 10 companies (34%), suggesting ongoing strength for the smaller companies in this
particular transport segment. The top 10 companies’ share
of the segment’s total earnings was roughly 49% in 2014
compared with 50% a year earlier.
Net income as a portion of natural gas pipeline operating revenues slipped to 19.48% in 2014, continuing the fall
from the record highs seen in 2010 to the lowest levels seen
in more than 11 years. The percentage of income as operating revenues for oil pipelines rebounded sharply to 49.64%,
passing its own 2011 record of 48.63%.
Net income as a portion of gas-plant investment rose to
3.19%, rebounding from a 17-yr low of 2.93%, in 2013. Net
income as a portion of investment in oil pipeline carrier
