A natural gas pipeline run by the U.S. energy company Summit Midstream Partners LP has been operational in New Mexico and Texas since Nov. 18.
Double E was built as a joint venture, where Summit holds 70% of the equity. Federal energy statistics estimate the project's cost at $450 million.
Permian Basin producers will benefit from improved downstream market access through this pipeline, possibly fueling new production growth in New Mexico and West Texas. It stretches approximately 135 miles from the Lane Processing plant to the Waha Hub in West Texas, adding approximately 1.35 Bcf/d of flow capacity to the Delaware Basin core.
As a result of its strategic location, Double E will be within reach of at least 20 gas processing plants, including six in New Mexico and one in Texas.
In addition to providing capacity holders with access to West Texas' benchmark Waha Hub, the pipeline also connects key downstream pipelines, including Kinder Morgan's Gulf Coast Express and Permian Highway Pipelines, adding to the system The Trans Pecos Pipeline that connects to the United States-Mexico border.
Due to the fact that the Double E pipeline should be able to transport more than 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day, this amount of gas would be sufficient to supply 5 million U.S. homes every day.
In the Permian Basin, the country's biggest shale oil region, Double E will be the first of several gas pipelines to begin serving customers this year, which should help operators reduce gas flaring in the area. Even though Permian drillers mainly target oil, they also extract a lot of gas.
In the past, many drillers burned off their waste gas because it was impossible to move it or process it in the region due to a lack of pipelines and infrastructure. Yet, as more pipes have been put into service, flare-ups have declined.
This year, Texas has also seen the commissioning of the 2 Bcf/d Whistler, the first phase of the 1.5 Bcf/d Gulf Coast Gemini, the 1 Bcf/d CJ Express, and the 2.1 Bcf/d Permian Highway, now with the addition of fully-operational Double E.
