FIG. 6
*Land and offshore pipeline construction as of June 30 of each year for the previous 12 months.
Source: US FERC
ESTIMATED, ACTUAL COST TRENDS— 10 YEARS*
Estimated
Co
s
t
s
,
$
1
,
0
0
0/mil
e
Actual
4,600
4,200
3,800
3,400
3,000
2,600
2,200
1,800
1,400
1,000
600
9,000
9,400
8,600
8,200
7,800
7,400
7,000
6,600
6,200
5,800
5,400
5,000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
• 42 land and 1 marine project (OGJ, Sept. 11, 2006, p.
46).
• 56 land and 4 marine projects (OGJ, Sept. 12, 2005,
p. 50).
Seven of the spreads in 2015 measured 100 miles or more,
as proposed large transmission lines returned, one measuring 374.5 miles and another 509 miles.
For the 12 months ending June 30, 2015, the 46 land
projects would cost an estimated $11.5 billion, as compared
with 31 land projects for $3.43 billion a year earlier.
It is helpful to remember that these statistics cover only
FERC-regulated pipelines. Many other pipeline construction
projects were announced in the 12 months ending June 30,
2015, but as mentioned earlier, many involved connecting
developing natural gas shale plays such as Eagle Ford and
Marcellus to already operating transportation infrastructure
and may have lied outside of FERC’s jurisdiction.
all investment in carrier property accelerate in 2014, adding
more than $1.2 billion, or 17.3%, with all companies increasing their investment here as well.
Comparisons of data in Table 3 with previous years’ must
be done with caution as mergers, acquisitions, and sales can
make comparisons with previous years’ data difficult.
Fig. 2 illustrates the investment split in the crude oil and
products pipeline companies.
Construction mixed
Applications to FERC by regulated interstate natural gas
pipeline companies to modify certain systems must, except
in certain instances, provide estimated costs of these modifications in varying degrees of details.
Tracking the mileage and compression horsepower applied for and the estimated costs can indicate levels of construction activity over 2-4 years. Tables 4 and 5 show companies’ estimates during the period July 1, 2014, to June 30,
2015, for what it will cost to construct a pipeline or install
new or additional compression.
These tables cover a variety of locations, pipeline sizes,
and compressor-horsepower ratings.
Not all projects proposed are approved. And not all projects approved are eventually built.
Applications filed in the 12 months ending June 30, 2015,
jumped after falling last year.
• Nearly 2,200 miles of pipeline were proposed for land
construction, the highest level since more than 2,700 miles
were proposed in 1998. No new offshore work was submitted. The land level was up from the 523 miles proposed for
land construction in 2014, a drop from the 820 miles of
pipeline were proposed for land construction in 2013.
• New or additional compression proposed by the end
of June 2015 measured more than 1.7-million hp, more than
doubling the high of roughly 706,000 hp proposed the year
before, itself up from the 450,000 hp proposed in 2013.
Putting the uptick in US gas pipeline construction in per-
spective, Table 4 lists 46 land-pipeline “spreads,” or mileage
segments, compared with:
• 31 land and 0 marine projects (OGJ, Sept. 1, 2014, p.
122).
• 26 land and 2 marine projects (OGJ, Sept. 2, 2013, p.
117).
• 11 land and 0 marine projects (OGJ, Sept. 3, 2012, p.
118).
• 31 land and 0 marine projects (OGJ, Sept. 5, 2011, p.
97).
• 8 land and 0 marine projects (OGJ, Nov. 1, 2010, p.
108).
• 21 land and 0 marine projects (OGJ, Sept. 14, 2009,
p. 66).
• 19 land and 0 marine projects (OGJ, Sept. 1, 2008, p.
58)
• 25 land and 1 marine project (OGJ, Sept. 3, 2007, p. 51)