Canadian Midstreamer to Optimise Plants
Canadian gas midstream operator Keyera said April 9 it would suspend operations at four of its west central Alberta gas plants as part of an infrastructure optimisation plan.
Two plants – Minnehik Buck Lake and West Pembina – will be shut down in the second half this year, while two others – Ricinus and Nordegg River – will be suspended in 2021. Together, the four plants have licensed processing capacity of about 600mn ft3/day.
Keyera has interests in 18 gas plants in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, with a total licensed capacity of some 3.1bn ft3/day; in 2019, average daily throughput for all the plants was some 1.5bn ft3/day.
Keyera will use its interconnected network of gathering systems – about 4,000 km of pipeline – to transfer volumes from the suspended facilities to other Keyera plants in the area, to the extent this is commercially and operationally feasible, the company said.
“It was a difficult decision to suspend operations at these four gas plants, which have been part of Keyera’s portfolio for many years,” CEO David Smith said. “However, these optimisation efforts will strengthen our gathering and processing business for the long term as they align with our customers’ needs and the current industry environment.”
The optimisation plan is intended to enhance Keyera’s long term competitive positioning by increasing utilisation at its existing facilities, reducing per unit operating costs, and providing higher netbacks for producer customers. The optimisation plan also aligns with Keyera’s environmental efforts by reducing its overall greenhouse gas emissions.