Diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company Phillips 66 and liquids pipeline operator Bridger Pipeline have formed a new 50/50 joint venture for the construction of the Liberty Pipeline.
Liberty Pipeline is a 24-inch pipeline that is intended to provide crude oil transportation service from the Rockies and Bakken production areas to Cushing, Oklahoma, from where shippers can access multiple Gulf Coast destinations from Cushing, including Corpus Christi, Ingleside, and Houston, Texas.
Initial service on the pipeline is expected to start in the first quarter of 2021, and is subject to the receipt of applicable permits and regulatory approvals. Liberty is supported by long-term shipper volume commitments.
The Liberty project is estimated to cost approximately £1.25bn
Phillips 66 chairman and CEO Greg Garland said: “The Liberty Pipeline presents us with a great opportunity to serve producers in the growing Bakken and Rockies production areas. The pipeline adds to our integrated infrastructure network that serves the key shale oil producing regions with connectivity to major Gulf Coast market centres.
“Our pipeline network has strategic alignment with our Central Corridor and Gulf Coast refineries, further enhancing value across our assets.”
On behalf of the joint venture, Phillips 66 would take up project construction and operate the pipeline. The new pipeline is expected to use existing pipeline and utility corridors and advanced construction techniques wherever feasible to minimize environmental and community impact.
The joint venture intends to hold a supplemental binding open season, which will is expected to be announced at a later date, to enable additional shippers to enter into long-term transportation services agreements.
Bridger Pipeline president Hank True said: “The Liberty Pipeline is an important undertaking on the part of our company to ensure that oil from Wyoming, the Rockies and the Bakken can get to markets in the U.S. and around the world. Our commitment to the Liberty Pipeline will give producers confidence to grow oil production in these important regions.”
