Natural gas drilling in the Haynesville Shale is fueling a bright economic future for East Texas. Producing wells are yielding valuable benefits in royalties, tax dollars and local revenue streams that will help keep our economy strong. Yet before all the economic benefits of the Haynesville Shale can be realized, pipelines must be in place to move the gas to compressor stations, onto the market and eventually to the kitchen stove.
With several decades of technology standing behind its construction and installation methods, pipelines are the safest and most cost-effective means to transport natural gas.* More than two million miles of natural gas pipelines currently crisscross our country.** Just as you encounter electrical power lines in your daily travels, you pass by pipelines every day. They are present, but for the most part, unseen.
The process of planning and constructing pipelines is significantly more involved than simply connecting point A to point B.
From route development to site restoration, many factors are taken into account when laying pipelines. These aboveground and belowground factors include pipeline constructability, effects on the environment, impacts on community life and existing infrastructure. As a result, communication and understanding between all parties is necessary for the successful construction of pipelines and compressor stations that will transport natural gas from wellhead to market.
* U.S. Department of Transportation
** U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Pipelines transport the valuable natural gas people need to heat their homes, power their appliances and cook their food.
Pipelines and compressor stations are an integral part of producing natural gas. Without pipelines, natural gas cannot be economically transported and sold at market to provide clean energy, royalty payments and other economic benefits to our community. Compressor stations provide the “push” to keep natural gas flowing efficiently through a pipeline network. Each element works safely in tandem with the others to complete the natural gas production process.
Distribution lines carry natural gas to homes and businesses, while gathering lines move the gas from a wellsite to a compressor station or a main transmission line – the “interstate highway” system for natural gas. Existing gathering lines may not always be available in areas where drilling operations are taking place. If they are, natural gas companies make every effort to utilize them.
Mockingbird Midstream Gas Services (MMGS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P. (CMD)