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Exxon, BP apply for 5% pipeline transfer
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. and BP Transportation (Alaska) Inc. have applied to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska for approval of a transfer of 5% interest in the PTE Pipeline from EMPC to BPTA.
The companies told RCA the proposed transfer is part of the larger transaction in which BP is exiting Alaska through sale of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. to Hilcorp Alaska LLC and transfer of BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc.’s Alaska-related assets, including its entire 100% stock ownership interest in BPTA, to Harvest Alaska LLC.
Transfer of the 5% interest in the PTE Pipeline “is intended to better align ownership percentages of PTEP with the anticipated ownership levels in the Point Thomson Unit upon completion of the BP-Hilcorp Transaction,” the companies said, and told RCA that aligning pipeline ownership with unit ownership is in the best interest of the public, as alignment mitigates “the risk of disputes that cost shippers considerable amounts of money to resolve or overcome.”
Ownership interests The companies said BPTA currently owns 32% of PTEP and its ownership would be increased to 37%. ExxonMobil owns the other 68% of the line.
The most recent data from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas for Point Thomson unit ownership show ExxonMobil Alaska Production with 61.2%, BP Exploration (Alaska) with 31.9%, ConocoPhillips Alaska with 4.9%, Jade Energy with 1.6% and 16 other owners, each with ownership of less than 1%.
ConocoPhillips Alaska said in May 2017 that it was dropping its working interest ownership in Point Thomson. The company said its interest, about 5%, was being relinquished to the other unit owners per the unit operating agreement. ConocoPhillips was not a partner in the PTE Pipeline.
The PTE Pipeline is a 12-inch inside diameter, 22-mile common carrier liquid petroleum transportation line from the central processing facility at Point Thomson to a connection to the Badami Pipeline at the Badami central processing facility, the companies said. The line has a capacity of some 70,000 barrels per day, with a currently established remaining economic life of 19 years, through 2045, “which could be extended if new or additional oil production is developed in the area that it serves.”
The companies said they have also begun a process with the State Pipeline Coordinator Section of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for approval of the transfer of the EMPC interest in the state’s right-of-way lease to BPTA.
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