Marabou Knife River-Brazos County, Texas pipeline construction project was built to provide direct firm natural gas supply to an asphalt facility located near Bryan, Texas. The plant had been using propane, residual fuel oil and diesel for fuel, and needed a direct fuel supply turn-key solution for dependable fuel at a significantly lower cost. Marabou Superior Pipeline began the process of design, cost estimation and right-of-way acquisition in April of 2012. Natural gas began flowing to the Knife River facility in August of 2012.
At no cost to the customer, the Marabou Superior pipeline construction team stepped in to analyze the project from both the economic and physical perspectives. Once completed, it was determined that a reliable supply of natural gas was the best alternative, delivered via a single user natural gas pipeline. Not only did this solution result in a dramatic reduction in energy cost (with a rapid payout of pipeline constuction capital expenditures) the Marabou approach also relieved the customer from the management burden related to fuel procurement, pipeline transportation and operations. Most important, it added the ability to hedge the fixed price cost of natural gas at the burner tip, protecting margins, ensuring profits and stabilizing fuel costs. This has yeilded significant benefit in both budgetary fuel savings and management terms.
Additionally, the client benefitted by purchasing natural gas from Marabou’s established midstream relationships in the wholesale marketplace leveraging Marabou’s vast experience with transporting gas through common carrier pipelines. As a result, Marabou entered into a full requirements, no-notice, long term natural gas sales agreements to supply natural gas to the customer through the pipeline construction project. These pipeline construction services included all right-of-way acquisitions, designs, permits, and construction, including the gas train facilities required at the customer’s plant.
Marabou Superior Pipeline also handles all operations and maintenance responsibilities for the customer, which allows composite pricing that includes all cost recovery, transportation, fees and fuel cost at a known number; dramatically simplifying the equation for the customer. The net result for the customer was a firm, reliable supply, open access to the market, avoidance of high utility commodity rates, transportation fees and regulatory overhead resulting in simplified operations and a fuel cost reduction of over 70%.
If these are the kind of result you are looking for, contact Marabou today!
