Kinder Morgan excels in pipeline biofuels movement

US-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) has announced successful ethanol movements through its Central Florida pipeline system and has begun tests to assess transporting biodiesel through its pipelines on a commercial basis. The company is conducting a test movement of blended B5 biodiesel in a segment of the Plantation Pipe Line system that transports petrol and diesel from Collins, Mississippi, to Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Kinder Morgan, a 51% owner and the operator of Plantation Pipe Line Company, expects test results to be available by the end of October. The company is also evaluating the transportation of biodiesel on its Portland to Eugene, Oregon, pipeline to support the forthcoming biodiesel mandate in Oregon.

'We are pursuing pipeline solutions to the overall supply chain for biofuels,' KMP Products president Tom Bannigan comments.

KMP recently completed a series of tests to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of transporting batched denatured ethanol in its 16-inch petrol pipeline between Tampa and Orlando, Florida.

The company is finalising mechanical modifications to the pipeline and intends to offer this transportation service to its customers by mid-November.

Kinder Morgan is also evaluating other opportunities for transportation of batched ethanol in its pipeline portfolio. In addition, the company has completed over $60 million (47 million Euro's) in ethanol projects including modifications to tanks, truck racks and related infrastructure for new or expanded ethanol service at various terminals in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest and has approved an additional $27 million in investments to further expand its ethanol handling capability in southeastern markets.

Kinder Morgan offers offloading, storage and blending of ethanol at its terminals in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona, Washington and Oregon.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is a pipeline transportation and energy storage company in North America. KMP owns an interest in or operates more than 25,000 miles of pipelines and 165 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, petrol, crude oil, carbon dioxide and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle bulk materials like coal and petroleum coke.