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PTE Pipeline files for lower tariff to move Point Thomson oil
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
PTE Pipeline LLC, the Point Thomson Export Pipeline, which moves Point Thomson condensate 22 miles to a connection with the Badami Sales Oil Pipeline, is now carrying more oil than when the current tariff was put in place last year and the company has filed for a decrease from its current tariff of $12.80 per barrel to $8.77, based on the increased throughput. The current rate of $12.80 was effective beginning Jan. 1.
Rates for the line are based on a settlement agreement reached last August.
That settlement was reached after PTE Pipeline filed a revenue requirement study with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in July 2018 proposing an increase for intrastate shipments from $12.09 per barrel, a rate established by an earlier settlement, to $20.84 per barrel. PTE Pipeline also filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for an increase for interstate rates from $12.09 to $19.49 per barrel. The 2018 filing was based on a revenue requirement study based on a 2017 test year.
The proposed increases reflected what PTE Pipeline described as a substantial decrease in the pipeline’s current and projected throughput compared to assumptions on which the 2016 settlement rate was based.
Field capacity 10,000 bpd The Point Thomson field production facilities have a capacity design of 10,000 bpd, but equipment issues have typically kept production - and hence throughput on the line - well below that.
ExxonMobil Production, the Point Thomson field operator, has had compressor issues at the high-pressure field, which came online in April 2016, but told the state recently it was addressing issues with its gas injection equipment, had begun installing upgraded components and expected to receive and install remaining equipment during the 2020-21 plan of development period.
As noted in the April 19 issue of Petroleum News, two compressor trains are now reported to be operating at the field, with an increase in condensate production expected from approximately 5,000 bpd to 10,000 bpd, the rated facility capacity at the field, with each of the two trains capable of 5,000-6,000 bpd.
In April, the most recent month for which production data for Point Thomson is available from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the field averaged 9,278 bpd, up from a March average of 7,601 bpd. The February average was 5,774 bpd, up from a January average of 5,292 bpd.
Average production from Point Thomson for the 12 months of 2019 was 5,968 bpd. Production for the first four months of 2020 averaged 6,986 bpd.
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