U.S. Oil & Gas Industry Preps for Maintenance Projects Across All Major Sectors in First Quarter

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As the U.S. Oil & Gas Industry continues to witness stunning growth in its shale basins, maintenance is becoming increasingly crucial to maintaining healthy upstream and midstream systems--especially with entirely new takeaway capacity, such as in the Permian Basin, some time away from becoming a reality. Industrial Info is tracking more than 80 maintenance-related projects in the Oil & Gas Production, Pipeline and Terminal industries that are set to kick off before the end of March.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 U.S. states for Oil & Gas maintenance projects in first-quarter 2019.

MarkWest Energy Partners LP (Denver, Colorado), a subsidiary of MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) (Findlay, Ohio), is investing more than any other oil and gas company in first-quarter maintenance projects. An estimated $20 million turnaround at the Javelina Gas Processing Plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, includes two weeks of inspection and repairs to a 225 million-pound-per-year ethylene unit; a 40,000-cubic-foot-per-day SMR hydrogen unit; a 142 million-standard-cubic-foot-per-day and 14,910-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) recovery unit for natural gas liquids (NGL); and a 29,000-BBL/d NGL processing fractionator.

MarkWest also is preparing to kick off a full-year, $5 million maintenance program at its Cryogenic Natural Gas Processing and Fractionation Plant in Cadiz, Ohio, taking down one unit at the 525 million-standard-cubic-foot-per-day facility every quarter. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Corpus Christi and Cadiz projects.

TransCanada Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (Calgary, Alberta) is spending more than any other company on U.S. pipeline maintenance through March. Existing portions of its Keystone Pipeline traversing the Midwest will undergo "pigging," in which devices known as "pigs" are sent through the system for cleaning, coating and inspection. These include:

• $9.5 million in work on the Missouri portion, covering 270 miles; see project report
• $6.65 million in work on the Nebraska portion, covering 190 miles; see project report
• $3.5 million in work on the Kansas portion, covering 98 miles; see project report
• $2 million in work on the Illinois portion, covering 57 miles; see project report

Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) (Dallas, Texas) also is among the bigger investors in first-quarter maintenance, with a $5 million solar turbine overhaul at its King Ranch Natural Gas Processing & Fractionation Plant near Kingsville, Texas, and a $1 million engine overhaul at its cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Beaver, Oklahoma. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Kingsville and Beaver projects.

Maintenance projects at terminals are at the lower end of the investment spectrum, accounting for only $11.5 million total. But the dozen projects come from some of the top companies in the U.S. Oil & Gas Industry, including:

• Phillips 66's (NYSE:PSX) (Houston, Texas) $1 million in work at its Petroleum Products Terminal in Kansas City, Kansas, which has a 1 million-barrel capacity with 17 tanks; see project report
• Kinder Morgan Incorporated's (NYSE:KMI) (Houston) $1 million in work at its Petroleum Products Terminal in Bloomington, California, which has a 446,200-barrel capacity with 16 tanks; see project report
• Buckeye Partners LP's (NYSE:BPL) (Houston) $1 million in work at its refined Products Terminal in West Sacramento, California, which has a 249,000-barrel capacity with 17 tanks; see project report
• Murphy Oil Corporation's (NYSE:MUR) (El Dorado, Arkansas) $1 million in work at its Petroleum Products Terminal in Meridian, Mississippi, which has a 98,809-barrel capacity with five tanks; see project report

Each involves a standard API-653 procedure, which covers inspection, upgrades and repairs to aboveground storage tanks.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 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. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.