ONE Future Member, Kinder Morgan, on the Growth of Natural Gas
July 31, 2019
In a Houston Chronicle article published last week Houston pipeline operator and ONE Future member, Kinder Morgan, said it will route its newest natural gas pipeline project from West Texas to East Texas, in support of the growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry stretching along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts.
Natural gas is a byproduct of oil drilling in the Permian Basin. The natural gas produced with oil is so abundant and pipeline capacity so constrained that most of it is burned off – or flared. Kinder Morgan has three pipeline projects that will move natural gas from west Texas and southeast New Mexico to customers along the Gulf Coast and in Mexico.
In the article, Kinder Morgan CEO, Steve Kean said, “The supply growth out of the Permian Basin and the expected demand growth, primarily as a function of demand from the LNG industry, is still very robust and should translate itself into a firm, long-term commitment.”
Kinder Morgan’s Gulf Coast Express Pipeline is expected to begin moving 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in late September from the Permian to the Agua Dulce Hub near Corpus Christi, where it can be used by customers along the Coastal Bend and in Mexico.
This growth spurt is an excellent time to allow Kinder Morgan to highlight their involvement with ONE Future and applaud the methane emissions reduction successes that they have already achieved.
Thomas Hutchins, Vice President, Environmental, Health and Safety for Kinder Morgan’s Natural Gas Business, holds a seat on the ONE Future board and was one of the founding ONE Future members. He said, “The ONE Future protocols and practices allow companies to allocate their resources to achieve their reduction commitments in the most efficient and effective manner.”
The company hopes to move natural gas to the Katy Hub near Houston by Oct. 2020 and will continue to employ the ONE Future coalition protocols, as well as other measures to ensure the highest standards of safety to the environment.
Also in the article, Kinder Morgan Chairman Richard Kinder said U.S. demand for natural gas is expected to grow 30 percent by 2030. The company, he said, is poised to tap into both the growing supply and demand for natural gas.
“Under almost any scenario, natural gas is a winner for years to come,” Kinder said. “Connecting these vast U.S. supplies to growing demand markets will drive new infrastructure and higher utilization of existing assets and Kinder Morgan is very well positioned to take advantage of those opportunities.”