Kinder Morgan to Improve Facilities along Houston Ship Channel

American energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan has announced a series of projects that are expected to increase efficiency, add product liquidity, and enhance blending capabilities at its Pasadena and Galena Park terminals.

The value of the projects is more than USD 170 million.

KMI’s liquids terminal platform now boasts 10 ship docks, 38 barge spots, 20 inbound pipelines providing connectivity to 10 regional refineries and chemical plants, 15 outbound pipelines, 14 cross-channel lines, and approximately 43 million barrels of storage on the Houston Ship Channel, North America’s leading port for energy exports.

KMI will invest about USD 125 million on enhancements to its Pasadena Terminal and Jefferson Street Truck Rack. This would result in increased flow rates on inbound pipeline connections and outbound dock lines, significantly reducing vessel load times and expanding effective dock capacity.

What is more, the enhancements include tank modifications that will provide for butane blending and vapor combustion capabilities on 10 storage tanks, with the option to extend those capabilities to an additional 25 tanks or more.

In addition, the project will include the expansion of the current methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) storage and blending platform, including a dedicated cross-channel MTBE line serving vessels being loaded at Pasadena’s North Docks. It will also include a new, dedicated natural gasoline (C5) inbound connection.

The improvements, which are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2020, are supported by a long-term agreement with a major refiner for approximately 2 million barrels of refined petroleum products storage capacity at the terminal, according to the company.

In addition to the enhancements at the Pasadena Terminal, KMI will also invest more than USD 45 million to develop and construct a butane-on-demand blending system for 25 tanks at its Galena Park Terminal. The project will include construction of a 30,000-barrel butane sphere, a new inbound C4 pipeline connection, as well as tank and piping modifications to extend butane blending capabilities to 25 tanks, two ship docks, and six cross-channel pipelines.

The project is supported by a long-term agreement with an investment grade midstream company and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020.