As the second phase of the contentious Bayou Bridge pipeline awaits permit approval from state and federal agencies, the entirety of the pipe has already been produced.
As 10/12 Industry Report details in a feature in the new quarterly issue, Stupp Corp. has more than 117 miles of the custom-ordered pipe, equating to 30,000 pipe tons, sitting at its Baton Rouge facilities, ready to go once the project gets the green light.
Not without its detractors, the $670 million pipeline would transport an estimated 280,000 barrels of crude oil a day between hubs in Nederland, Texas, and St. James Parish once completed and operational. Bayou Bridge is jointly owned by subsidiaries of Phillips 66 Partners, Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners.
The first leg of the pipeline, connecting Nederland to facilities and refineries in Lake Charles, was completed in 2016, while the second, lengthier phase will continue the pipeline eastward to St. James Parish.
In the process, the pipeline would cross 11 southern Louisiana parishes as well as the Atchafalaya Basin. The owners estimate the project would provide $17.6 million in sales tax revenue, $750 million in total infrastructure investment and $1.8 million in property taxes during the first year of service.
“The pipe will be ready to go once they tell us to start doing the load-outs,” says Chip McAlpin, Stupp’s vice president-corporate strategy and development. “One of the benefits of some of the reduced capacity or utilization in the pipeline industry right now is that we’re not as full, from a yard standpoint, as we have been in previous years, so we have existing space to store the pipe.”
Energy Transfer Partners spokesperson Vicki Anderson Granado says starting early with the pipe milling was necessary to keep the project on schedule. “I guess you could say that it’s a little bit of a risk, but your infrastructure projects in this country would lag greatly if you waited until all of the permits were done before you started the milling process.” Besides, she adds, the 24-inch-diameter pipe could be used on other projects in a worst-case scenario.
Ultimately, 12 permanent jobs would be created by the pipeline, bringing ETP’s total employment in the state to 765. Nationwide, the company maintains about 71,000 miles of pipeline, transporting natural gas and crude oil.
Until the regulatory permitting process is complete, ETP is unable to provide a timeline for construction. While the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources granted a coastal use permit in early April, go-aheads are still needed from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before construction can begin.
“The public hearing phases are over, so now the regulatory agencies are taking all of the environmental information that we’ve submitted, as well as our permit application, and reviewing all of the public comments,” Granado says.
Read the full story, and check out the second quarter issue of 10/12 Industry Report below. Be sure to sign up for a free subscription of the quarterly publication. Send your feedback, story ideas and company news to editor@1012industryreport.com.
