Midstream giant Kinder Morgan has given the green light to the construction of its $1.7 billion Trident Intrastate Pipeline project in Texas. The 216-mile, 48- and 42-in.-diameter mainline will stretch from near Katy, Texas, a hub for West Texas gas, and move natural gas to the LNG and industrial corridor near Port Arthur, Texas, terminating at Golden Pass LNG. Golden Pass previously committed to being an anchor shipper on Trident. Golden Pass LNG is a 70/30 joint venture between QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil.
The Trident project is underpinned by long-term contract commitments by producers and will provide around 1.5 Bcf/D of capacity. Pending receipt of all required permits and approvals, Kinder Morgan expects the project to be in service in the first quarter of 2027.
The difficulty in moving gas from Katy eastward is the city of Houston. A direct path would require traversing the fourth-largest city in the US, which, while not impossible, would be daunting due to the complex negotiations required for rights-of-way across various sections of the city.
While Kinder Morgan has not disclosed its final pipeline route, it revealed in its open season announcement last fall the counties that would have delivery points—Grimes, San Jacinto, Liberty, Hardin, and Jefferson. This route would extend north beyond the Houston's city limits and the Sam Houston National Forest before turning southeast toward Port Arthur.
Elsewhere, Kinder Morgan subsidiary Hiland Partners Holdings agreed to purchase a natural gas gathering and processing system in North Dakota from Outrigger Energy II for $640 million. The acquisition includes a 270 MMcf/D processing facility and a 104-mile, large-diameter, high-pressure rich-gas gathering header pipeline with 350 MMcf/D of capacity connecting supplies from the Williston Basin area to high-demand markets. The gathering and processing system is backed by long-term contracts with commitments from major customers in the basin.
The transaction is subject to clearance under Hart-Scott-Rodino and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
