According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), 46 gas pipeline projects will add 16 to 17 bcf/d (165 to 175 bcm/year) of transmission capacity in 2019; some of these projects have already been commissioned, while the other projects will enter service by the end of the year. The projects are expected to increase pipeline deliveries to Mexico or to LNG export terminals in the Gulf Coast region.
Indeed, more than 40% of the new capacity (7.2 bcf/d or 74 bcm/year) will deliver gas to the South Central region and will provide additional takeaway capacity out of the Permian Basin in western Texas. Among the projects, Kinder Morgan’s 2 bcf/d (21 bcm/year) Gulf Coast Express Pipeline project will transport gas from the Waha Hub in the Permian Basin (near the Texas-New Mexico border) to the Gulf Coast at the Agua Dulce Hub. ONEOK has already developed two gas pipeline projects, the 1 bcf/d (10 bcm/year) Roadrunner Eastbound Expansion and the 300 mcf/d (3.1 bcm/year) WesTex Expansion, while El Paso is still building its 320 mcf/d (3.3 bcm/year) Northern Delaware Basin Expansion Project. A single gas export project to Mexico was planned for 2019, the 2.6 bcf/d (27 bcm/year) Valley Crossing Pipeline.
In the Northeast region, projects completed in 2019 include Millennium Pipeline’s 223 mcf/d (2.3 bcm/year) Eastern System Upgrade Project to Pennsylvania and New York, and Transcontinental’s 190 mcf/d (2 bcm/year) Rivervale South to Market Project to the New York City market.