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Hilcorp plans Slope facilities mergers Endicott, Northstar would use single connection point to TAPS, with newer Northstar facilities used; Endicott would be backup KRISTEN NELSON Petroleum News
Endicott Pipeline Co. and Northstar Pipeline Co., both owned by Hilcorp subsidiary Harvest Alaska, have applied to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska for a permit to connect the Endicott Pipeline to the Northstar Oil Pipeline. The joint application also includes approval of a connection agreement between the companies for their connection facilities at TAPS Pump Station No. 1 and approval of a capacity lease agreement for Endicott throughput from the new TAPS Pump Station No. 1 connection through existing Northstar-TAPS connection facilities.
The Northstar and Endicott pipelines are currently connected separately to TAPS at Pump Station No. 1 with the Northstar-TAPS connection agreement dating from 2001, the Endicott-TAPS connection from 1987.
The companies said in their application that the Endicott-TAPS connection facilities will remain in place for the purpose of transporting Lisburne production to TAPS Pump Station No. 1 and will also serve “as a possible back-up facility for the Northstar-Endicott production streams if needed for that purpose.”
Lisburne production “When the Endicott-TAPS connection is no longer needed for Lisburne production, which may occur within the next few years, a decision will be made at that time concerning whether the use of the Endicott-TAPS connection should be permanently discontinued and whether it should be removed, subject to regulatory approval,” the companies said.
The proposed Endicott-Northstar connection facilities would be in close proximity to TAPS Pump Station No. 1, some 400-500 feet upstream of the TAPS metering building.
The companies said the incoming Endicott and Northstar lines would be connected by a jumper line, and would result in combined throughput from the Endicott and Northstar pipelines entering TAPS through the existing Northstar-TAPS connection facilities.
The companies are asking for RCA approval without formal proceedings because the parties agree on the terms and conditions, there are no protesting parties and the parties have agreed on reasonable terms and conditions.
Capacity agreement The capacity agreement between the companies provides for equal sharing of the costs to maintain the Northstar-TAPS connection facilities and would allow Endicott throughput of up to 50,000 barrels per day between the final 400-500 feet of the connection facilities between the Northstar tie-in point and the Northstar-TAPS metering building.
The companies said the Northstar-TAPS connection facilities were designed to accommodate expected Northstar field production of 65,000 bpd, which could be increased to 70,000 to 90,000 bpd with modifications.
The current combined average daily throughout of Endicott and Northstar is less than 20,000 bpd.
The companies said the capacity lease would benefit both pipelines, and their respective shippers, by allowing the pipelines to share operating and maintenance costs of the Northstar-TAPS connection facilities downstream of the Northstar tie-in point, eliminating “the need for maintaining and operating redundant capacity downstream of the Endicott Tie-in Point” thus reducing operating and maintenance costs for both pipelines.
In addition to cost savings, the companies said “the proposed connection will also serve to mitigate corrosion on the Northstar-TAPS Connection Facilities with the increased volumes, and the cost of corrosion control measures and other maintenance costs will be shared by the two pipelines.”
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