Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern), the gas supply company with three major operations in northwest Oklahoma and the Panhandle, is asking federal government permission to build an expansion of its gas line in New Mexico’s share of the Permian Basin.
The company filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking authorization for its Permian Basin Expansion Project, Gas Compression magazine reported.
Considered a major interstate natural gas pipeline and storage operator and a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Northern Natural operates extensive compressor stations, storage facilities and transportation infrastructure to supply utilities and industrial end-users. Its major Oklahoma operations are in Cheyenne, Hammon and Beaver in the western part of the state.
The project consists of installing 15.1 miles (24.3 km) of 24-inch (61-mm) diameter and 1.1 miles (1.7 km) of 16-inch (40-cm) diameter new pipelines in Lea County, New Mexico and Gaines County, Texas; constructing a new compressor station; constructing an interconnect with Transwestern Pipeline Company within the existing Phillip 66 Linam Ranch Plant; constructing a receiver within Northern’s existing launcher facility; replacing an existing recycle valve within Northern’s existing Plains Compressor Station; and constructing a delivery point at the Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS) Gaines County Generating Station.
The project will provide peak day firm transportation service of approximately 361,600 dekatherms per day to the new SPS generation facility as well as provide benefits to Northern’s existing system through increased reliability and system flexibility.
Gas Compression reported that Northern proposes to construct and operate the Hobbs Compressor Station in Lea County, New Mexico. Outfitted with a 7700 hp (5744 kW) Solar Taurus 60 gas turbine, the new compressor station will be tied into Northern’s existing 26-inch (66-cm) diameter NMM10101 B-line. The compressor station will include auxiliary equipment such as a suction scrubber, gas cooler, fuel gas heater, fuel gas coalescer, seal gas filter, condensate tank, lube oil cooler, fuel meters, and numerous actuated valves.
