Roadrunner is a 321 km pipeline connecting ONEOK Partners’ existing WesTex natural gas pipeline system near Coyanosa, Texas, to a new international border-crossing connection at the US and Mexico border near San Elizario, Texas. The project is fully subscribed under 25-year firm fee-based commitments. The completed first phase provides 170 MMcf/d of capacity to markets in Mexico and El Paso, Texas.
ONEOK Partners President and Chief Executive Officer Terry K. Spencer said “The addition of Roadrunner to our extensive natural gas pipeline infrastructure in West Texas positions ONEOK Partners to serve Mexico’s rapidly expanding natural gas markets by connecting them with U.S. producers in the Permian Basin.”
The second phase, which will increase the pipeline’s capacity to 570 MMcf/d, currently is under construction and is expected to be completed in the first quarter 2017. The third and final phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2019 and will increase the total capacity on the pipeline to 640 MMcf/d.
The project is a 50-50 joint venture with Mexico City-based natural gas infrastructure company Fermaca and is estimated to cost approximately US$430-480 million, a decrease of US$20 million from previously announced cost estimates. The reduction in project capital is a result of lower material and labor costs associated with construction.