Rocky Mountains Regions Readies for Almost $7 Billion in Project Kickoffs in Third-Quarter 2015

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A long-anticipated molybdenum mine and a leading wind-power project are the top drivers of $6.74 billion in expected project construction starts in the U.S. Rocky Mountains region for the third quarter of 2015. Three-quarters of the amount is attributed to four industries: Metals & Minerals, Power, Oil & Gas Pipelines, and Industrial Manufacturing.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active projects scheduled to kick off in the third quarter of 2015 in the Rocky Mountains region by industry.

The Rocky Mountains region includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Not surprisingly, the Metals & Minerals Industry leads all others in expected Rocky Mountains project kickoffs in the third quarter, with $1.87 billion in TIV; unusually, more than half of the total is attributed to a single, long-anticipated project: General Moly Incorporated's (NYSE:GMO) (Lakewood, Colorado) $1.19 billion construction of the Mount Hope Molybdenum Mine near Eureka , Nevada.

The aboveground project, which has a rocky financing history, involves the construction of a 65 million-ton-per-year open pit mine and a 60,000-ton-per-day processing plant with flotation & leaching circuits. The facility is expected to process 24 million tons per year of molybdenite sulfide ores over a 34-yr mine life. M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation (Tucson) is performing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the project, which currently has a completion date in first-quarter 2017.

The Power Industry holds a photo-finish second place, with $1.86 billion in projects expected to begin construction in the region from July through September, including one of the nation's largest wind-power projects: EverPower Wind Holdings Incorporated's (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) $480 million construction of the Mud Springs Windfarm in Billings, Montana. The project involves the installation of 120 Vestas, Gamesa or equivalent wind turbine generators, each with a capacity of 2 megawatts (MW ), for a total output of 240 MW. The project is set to be completed in fourth-quarter 2016. EverPower is a subsidiary of private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited (London, England).

The Oil & Gas Pipeline Industry takes the bronze with about $700 million in projects set to kick off in the Rocky Mountains region in the third quarter. One of the largest is Magellan Midstream Partners LP's (NYSE:MMP) (Tulsa, Oklahoma) construction of the 550-mile Saddlehorn crude-oil pipeline, which is expected to transport 200,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of crude oil from the DJ Basin/Wattenburg Basin to Magellan's Crude Oil Terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma. Completion in second-quarter 2016, and the pipe eventually would expand to 400,000 BBL/d.

For more information on the Saddlehorn pipeline, see June 1, 2015 article - Where the Crude Flows: Gulf Coast and Cushing; May 7, 2015, article - Plains All American Ramps 2015 Growth Capex to $2.15 Billion, First-Quarter Earnings Drop; May 6, 2015, article - Anadarko Sees Growth in Eagle Ford, Marcellus in First-Quarter 2015, Expects Up to $5.7 Billion in Capex for Year; and May 5, 2015, article - Magellan Midstream Boosts 2015 Growth Capex, Sees Drop in Quarterly Profit.

The Industrial Manufacturing Industry is looking at $634 million in planned project starts, including Denver Regional Transportation District's $207 million extension of its Southeast Corridor rail project near Denver, Colorado. The 2.3-mile addition will include three new stations and is expected to wrap up in the third quarter of 2017.

Almost three-quarters of the region's TIV--about $4.96 billion--is related to 58 projects that are now in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or eliminate the expected spending. The region also has 25 projects worth $1.67 billion in the engineering stages, while 62 projects worth $109 million already have kicked off the first stage of construction and will kick off the second in the third quarter.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.