Background, Update, And Comments From A Reader On The Hess Ethane Pipeline -- The Vantage Pipeline -- To Alberta -- April 27, 2019

A reader was nice enough to remind me of some data points regarding the Hess Vantage pipeline.

I replied that I was lazy this week/this weekend -- just too much to blog and I did not take the time for a proper update. Sorry. This all started with updates on Hess yesterday, these two links:

• Hess, 1Q19 earnings;
• Hess reclaims bragging rights to largest NG processing plant in North Dakota

and then readers' comments regarding the "Hess pipeline to Alberta."

The "Hess pipeline to Alberta" is the Vantage Pipeline.

So, let's do a blog search and provide some background:

• the Vantage Pipeline, from an October 13, 2014, posting:

With regard to ethane and ethane pipelines, a reader recently commented:

The Vantage pipeline to Alberta from the Hess plant is probably the longest ethane pipeline in North America. OneOK y-grade pipe line takes Bakken NGLs to Conway, Kansas, where the propane is fractionated and sent to north to Iowa and points north. The rest of the NGLs are sent to Mt Belvieu, TX, where the rest of the fractionations occur. 

The Vantage pipeline:

The Vantage Pipeline is a high vapour pressure (HVP) pipeline carrying ethane from a source near Tioga, North Dakota, extending northwest, through Saskatchewan, Canada, and terminating near Empress, Alberta, Canada. The pipeline links a growing supply of ethane from North Dakota to markets in Alberta. 

The Vantage Pipeline is 445 miles steel pipeline, with an outside diameter of 10 inches.

• the Vantage Pipeline, from a September 2, 2014, posting:

The Wall Street Journal is reporting:

Pembina Pipeline Corporation is pleased to announce that it has entered into agreements to acquire the Vantage pipeline system and Mistral Midstream Inc.'s interest in the Saskatchewan Ethane Extraction Plant for total consideration of US$650 million.
 
Vantage is a recently constructed, approximately 700 kilometre ("km"), 40,000 barrel per day ("bpd"), high vapour pressure pipeline that originates in Tioga, North Dakota and terminates near Empress, Alberta. Vantage provides long-term, fee-for-service cash flow and strategic access to the prolific and growing North Dakota Bakken play for future natural gas liquids (NGL) opportunities. 

The Vantage pipeline can be increased to 60,000 bpd with minimum costs. 

• From July 16, 2013: Canada's biggest plastic producer will purchase all the ethane that Hess produces at its Tioga plant; US State Department approved the international pipeline to complete the deal. 

Now, new today: to say the least, the Vantage Pipeline really excited me when it was announced and then completed. But I was remiss re-posting all that for newbies. Again, a big apology. The notes above might be a bit disjointed, but one can probably sort it out.

Now, putting all that together from the reader today:

Hess moves ethane on this pipeline from Tioga to Empress, Alberta, where the Alberta Ethane Gathering System takes it to Nova Chemical's petrochemical complex at Joffre, Alberta. 

Hess is just completing the fifth year, I believe it is, of a ten-year deal supplying ethane to Nova. 

So I doubt they want to move ethane off this pipeline in the immediate future. 

And then this, which I had completely forgotten:

You may recall you previously mentioned one Bakken "tidbit", that Nova Chemicals is a subsidiary of IPIC (International Petroleum investment Company) which is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Another Bakken amazement - supplying the UAE ethane! 

And for the post on that, see this September 19, 2018, entry.