Kinder Morgan pipeline construction nears

By Wesley Gardner
LPR Editor

Construction of the Permian Highway Pipeline Project, a 42-inch, 430-mile natural gas pipeline that would run from West Texas to the Gulf Coast, may begin in a matter of weeks in Caldwell County,
According to Kinder Morgan Vice President of Public Affairs Allen Fore, the energy infrastructure company has secured 100 percent of the right of way for the pipeline project, meaning it can begin construction in Central Texas once they obtain the necessary federal permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
Fore said on Monday he believes the permits will be obtained “very soon.”
In a previous conversation with the Post-Register, Fore said the pipeline was necessary to support the rapidly growing Caldwell County population.
“The existing natural gas infrastructure in Caldwell County is certainly being utilized to its full extent,” said Fore. “There’s no question that it’s in the interest of political leadership and others to bring in new development.
“That’s why they built the toll road. [New development is] coming. That was by design, so that’s going to require additional natural gas capacity. There’s no question about that.”
According to Fore, the pipeline will also provide environmental protection from a process known as routine flaring.
“When you extract crude oil, with it comes methane,” said Fore. “You have no place to put the methane, so you basically light it and it burns.
“That’s a problem for Texas. It’s a waste of a resource and it’s bad for the environment. This pipeline is 100 percent capturing that flare gas.”
According to data released from The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, global gas flaring results in more than 350 million tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide) equivalent emissions every year.

To read more, see this week’s edition of the Post-Register.