Rocky Mountains Region's Top 10 Construction Starts for Fourth Quarter Show Strong Investments in Natural Gas, Crude Oil, Wind

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Despite ongoing weaknesses in commodity prices, the energy industry continues to drive construction activity in the U.S. Rocky Mountains region, where $5.78 billion in projects are expected to kick off in fourth-quarter 2015. More than 75% of the total is attributed to four industries: Power, Oil & Gas Production, and Oil & Gas Pipelines.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active projects scheduled to kick off in the fourth 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.

The Power Industry is way ahead of the pack with $2.95 billion in project set to begin construction in the Rocky Mountains region in the fourth quarter. One of the highest-profile projects is Disgen Holdings LLC's (Lakewood, Colorado) $865 million Marcou Mesa Windfarm in Joseph City, Arizona. The 390-megawatt (MW) project will consist of 195 turbines, each with a capacity of 2 MW. Tierra Environmental Consultants (Tempe, Arizona) is serving as a consultant. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Oil & Gas Production Industry has fallen hard times following last year's collapse in commodity prices, but still has an impressive $911 million in projects set to kick off in the Rocky Mountains region from October through December. One of the most anticipated projects is DCP Midstream LLC's (Houston, Texas) $450 million construction of the Mountain View Cryogenic Natural Gas-Processing Plant in La Salle, Colorado. The facility is expected to process feedstock from the Niobrara Shale, with an inlet capacity of 200 million standard cubic feet per day. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

Not surprisingly, the Oil & Gas Pipelines Industry also has a strong presence in the region, with $625 million in Rocky Mountains projects slated to begin construction in the next quarter. One of the largest is Magellan Midstream Partners LP's (NYSE:MMP) (Tulsa, Oklahoma) $220 million construction of a major portion of the Saddlehorn Crude-Oil Pipeline. The 550-mile project recently entered the engineering phase, and upon completion is expected to transport 200,000 BBL/d of crude oil from the DJ/Wattenburg Basin, eventually expandable to 400,000 BBL/d. It will run from Platteville, Colorado, to Magellan's crude-oil terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

For more information, see June 24, 2015, article - Planned Saddlehorn Crude Oil Pipeline to Add 50-Mile Segment.

The remaining seven highest-value projects set to kick off in the Rocky Mountains region in the fourth quarter are:

• $500 Million: Sempra Energy's Mesquite Solar Park in Arlington, Arizona
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $350 Million: PNM Resources Incorporated's Transmission Line Upgrade in Gladstone, New Mexico
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $320 Million: Rimrock Midstream's Grand Mesa Crude Oil Pipeline Segment in Colorado
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $300 Million: Tuusso Energy's Ridgenose Solar Plant in Aguila, Arizona
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $265 Million: Montana Advanced Biofuels' Ethanol Plant in Great Falls, Montana
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $200 Million: Rimrock Midstream's Crude-Oil Gathering System in Lucerne, Colorado
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $156 Million: Western Area Power Administration's Teckla Transmission in Gillette, Wyoming
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

More than half of the region's total investment value (TIV)--about $3.21 billion--is related to 39 projects that are now in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or eliminate the expected spending. The region also has 45 projects worth about $2.46 billion in the engineering stages, while 43 projects worth $106 million already have kicked off the first stage of construction and will kick off the next stage in the fourth 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.