arizona pipeline and compressor station project could launch next year

A pipeline running slightly west of Tucson to the southern town of Sasabe near the international border with Mexico is expected to see upwards of $55 million in planned improvements beginning next year.

The Houston-based energy infrastructure giant Kinder Morgan says that what is being called the Sierrita Compressor Expansion Project, which is expected to win the approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission later this year, could take up to a year to complete.

As planned, work on the project would see the construction of a compressor station off of Arizona State Route 86, as well as new suction and discharge piping.

The project, to be undertaken by the Sierrita Gas Pipeline Company, a limited liability affiliate of Kinder Morgan, will enhance piping infrastructure that was originally built in 2014 and is just over 60 miles in length.

Documents filed with the FERC indicate that the project will have a one-year construction schedule, with a rough completion date of spring 2020.

By Garry Boulard