Enbridge, Enterprise, and Anadarko Move Ahead with Texas Express NGL Pipeline

Link here.

Enterprise Products Partners LP, Enbridge Energy Partners LP, and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will move ahead with their Texas Express NGL pipeline, having executed long-term contracts for 232,000 b/d of its capacity. Starting near Skellytown in Carson County, Tex., the 20-in. OD TEP mainline will extend about 580 miles to Enterprise’s NGL fractionation and storage complex at Mont Belvieu, Tex., also providing access to other third-party facilities in the area.

Production from the Rockies, Permian basin, and Midcontinent will be delivered into TEP through Enterprise’s existing Mid-America Pipeline System, running north through Oklahoma into Conway, Kan., and south into the Permian basin. Enterprise described the project as a bolt-on expansion, enhancing the value its midstream assets.

Meanwhile, the Keystone XL dithers.

****************

A Note To The Granddaughters

This past weekend we visited Newburyport and Plum Island north of Boston. Wow, what a surprise. A long time ago I had seen Plum Island on the map and was curious. While having breakfast at our favorite Gloucester cafe, the Morning Glory, overlooking the harbor, I realized it was just a half-hour or so up the road to Plum Island.

I was curious. It turns out there is a great Massachusetts Audubon site there, as well as Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. It turns out the excitement this past weekend: the snowy owls migrating north to the Arctic.  The Audubon folks said there were five or six snowy owls in the area.

We took a drive down Plum Island. Wow, what a gem, another well-kept secret. The national refuge is open every day and entry fee is $5/car. A day on the beach in the Boston area runs one about $20. I don't mind dogs at all, in fact, I enjoy seeing them enjoy themselves on beaches, but my wife definitely likes a dog-free beach, and the Parker River refuge forbids dogs. One cannot even bring a dog into the refuge even if it's "kept in the car."

The highlight of the trip: we saw a huge snowy owl sitting on a small rise under some trees overlooking the marsh. He probably sat there for hours; we were there for about a half-hour observing him/her, along with a dozen other birders. Cars came and went, and the owl just stayed there, looking at us looking at him/her. I suggested the owl should put out a pail to collect donations; he/she could have made a fortune.

From a recent Boston Globe bird sighting report:

Early spring migrants were again reported with increasing frequency from many areas.

• Newburyport: Reports from the Parker River Refuge on Plum Island last week documented 90 northern pintails, four redheads, two glossy ibis, a merlin, two peregrine falcons, two snowy owls, and a short-eared owl.
• Newbury: At the William Forward Wildlife Management Area, two sandhill cranes were present for most of the week.

We asked how long the snowy owls would stay in the area: at least through mid-April, and possibly through early May, although May is getting a bit late, and with the warm winter we've had, they will probably leave a bit earlier than usual. I assume they are texting their friends in Barrow to see whether it's time to start moving north.

Oh, one last thing: best restaurant/cafe in the area: Loretta's in Newburyport.