An estimated 2,000 contractors are working to finish one of the latest pipelines being built to take the pressure off the Permian Basin oil and gas challenge. The Shin Oak Pipeline was announced last spring but it won’t be finished until the middle of next year.
The line is 658-miles in length and will link Enterprise Products L.P’s Natural Gas Liquid Fractionation and Storage plant in Gaines county near the Texas and New Mexico border to its Permian Basin NGL fraction and storage complex outside of Houston.
Work on the project started in late June and Enterprise spokesman Rick Rainey indicated once the 24-inch line is in place, it will transport up to 600,000 barrels of LNG a day.
“Pipelines have proven to be the safest mode of transportation for essential energy products we use every day,” Rainey said. “Whether it’s fuel or home heating, it basically eliminates the need for additional trucks on the road, which create issues because they go through populated areas. To protect our pipelines, we have a very comprehensive safety and management program.
“These will be remotely monitored from a control room. We do regular inspections, required by the railroad commission; we use computerized equipment and run smart tape through the line on a regular basis to determine the condition of the pipe from the inside. We run aerial patrols probably every two weeks.”