{"operation":"document","citation":"PI-16-0013","title":"MarkWest Javelina Pipeline Company, LLC — Pipeline Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2019-10-15","effective_on":null,"summary":"PI-16-0013 response to MarkWest Javelina Pipeline Company, LLC concerning 192.3.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-16-0013.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-16-0013.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-16-0013","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/pipeline/interpretations/72661/markwest-javelina-pipeline-company-pi-16-0013-10-15-2019-part-1923.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nofTransportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nWashington DC 20590\nOCT 1 5 2019\nMs. Leanne M. Meyer\nVP Environmental, Safety, Pipeline Integrity\nand Operations Support Services\nMarkWest Javelina Pipeline Company, LLC\n1515 Arapahoe Street, Tower 1, Suite 1600\nDenver, CO 80202-2137\nDear Ms. Meyer:\nIn a letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), you\nrequested an interpretation of 49 CFR Part 192. You specifically requested an interpretation of\n§ 192.3 for a definition of a transmission pipeline. You requested an interpretation for your eight\nintrastate pipeline systems that transport off-gas ( consisting of non-condensable vents from\nvarious refinery process units containing light hydrocarbon components) from six refineries to\nyour Javelina facility located in Corpus Christi, Texas. You requested these eight intrastate lines\nto be reclassified from transmission lines to Type B regulated gathering lines.\nYou provided the following information about the pipeline systems: the pipelines range from 0.2\nto 1.54 miles in length and from 16 to 24 inches in diameter with a maximum allowable\noperating pressure (MAOP) of 99 psig, and the percentage specified minimum yield strength\n(SMYS) ranges from 9 to 14 percent. You also provided a summary table of the characteristics\nof the eight pipelines.\nFurthermore, in an email you provided maps and additional information. You stated that the\nJavelina facility receives the off-gas from 6 refineries, separates the products into valuable\ncomponents, and sends the residue gas back to the refineries to be used as fuel.\nGas gathering pipelines in §192.3 are defined as pipelines that transport gas from a production\nfacility to a transmission line or main. Generally, gathering pipelines collect gas from natural\ngas wells and transport them to a processing facility, refinery or a transmission pipeline. 49\nC.F.R. §§ 192.3 and 192.8. Transporting off-gas from refineries does not qualify the pipelines in\nquestion as gathering pipelines.\nSection 192.3 defmes a transmission line as:\nTransmission line means a pipeline, other than a gathering line, that: (1)\nTransports gas from a gathering line or storage facility to a distribution\ncenter, storage facility, or large volume customer that is not down-stream\nThe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety provides written clarifications of the Regulations (49 CFR\nParts 190-199) in the form of interpretation letters. These letters reflect the agency's current application of the regulations to the specific facts\npresented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations do not create legally-enforceable rights or obligations and are provided to\nhelp the public understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n2\nfrom a distribution center; (2) operates at a hoop stress of 20 percent or more\nof SMYS; or (3) transports gas within a storage field.\nNOTE: A large volume customer may receive similar volumes of gas as a\ndistribution center, and includes factories, power plants, and institutional\nusers of gas.\nThe Javelina facility is a large volume customer because it is a manufacturing facility that\nprocesses refinery off-gas, and with all six refineries on line, the Javelina facility can process up\nto 142 mmscfd of off-gas. The Javelina facility uses this off-gas as chemical and plastic\nfeedstocks and sends residue gas back to the refineries. Under the Federal pipeline safety\nregulations, these pipelines are considered transmission lines because they are downstream of\ngathering systems and transport gas from refineries to a large volume customer that is not\ndownstream from a distribution center. Therefore, per the first definition of a transmission line\nin §192.3, the eight pipelines transport off-gas to the Javelina facility as transmission pipelines\nand must remain regulated as transmission lines. In addition, you stated by follow up email that\nthe residue gas is transported by pipelines back to the refineries to be used as fuel. Under the\nFederal pipeline safety regulations, the pipelines that transport the residue gas from the Javelina\nfacility back to the refineries are also regulated under Part 192 as transmission lines.\nIfwe can be of further assistance, please contact Tewabe Asebe at 202-366-5523.\nSincerely,\nDirector, Office of Standards\nand Rulemaking\nThe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety provides written clarifications of the Regulations\n(49 CFR Parts 190-199) in the form of interpretation letters. These letters reflect the agency's current application of the regulations to the\nspecific facts presented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations do not create legally-enforceable rights or obligations and\nare provided to help the public understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nc CT 11 2016\nMJIRKWEST\nMarkWest Javelina Pipeline\nCompany, L.L.C.\n1515 Arapahoe Street\nTower 1, Suite 1600\nDenver, CO 80202-2137\nOctober 10. 2016\nOffice of Pipeline Safety (PHP-30)\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.\nWashington. DC 20590-0001\nRe: MarkWest RG Pipeline System Regulatory Interpretation Request\nDear Sir or Madame:\nCurrently, the Texas Railroad Commission's records indicate that the MarkWest RG pipelines, located in\nCorpus Christi, Texas, were registered as transmission pipelines, MarkWest would like to correct this error\nand correctly identify the pipelines as regulated gathering lines. MarkWest is requesting your interpretation\nin order to complete this process.\nThe MarkWest Javelina RG pipeline system consists of 8 pipelines; RG-210, RG-220, RG-400, RG-600,\nRG-700, RG-800, RG-810 and RG-820 which transport off-gas from 6 refineries to the Javelina facility\nlocated in Corpus Christi, TX. The RG Pipelines range from 0.2 to 1.54 miles and from 16 to 24 inches in\ndiameter with a Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) of 99 psig.\nHistory of Javelina Processing Plant:\nHistorically, off-gas (consisting of non-condensable vents from various refinery process units) was utilized by\nthe refineries internally as fuel for heaters and boilers. Off-gas contains light hydrocarbon components which\nwere determined to be more valuable as chemical and plastic feedstocks than as fuel by several local\nrefineries. In 1989, the Javelina processing facility partnership was formed between Kerr McGee, Valero.\nand Coastal to process refinery off-gas. After completion in 1990, the facility began processing off-gas from\nfive refineries. In 1996. a sixth off-gas provider was added when the Flint Hills Resources West refinery was\ntied-in.\nPipeline System:\nThe subject pipelines are summarized in the following table:\nPlpellne Name : St1to{ s): lnterslllte / lt'tr11ttte: Function:\nFERC: From: To: Segment Length (ml,: Design Preuure: %SMYS: MAOP I MOP: NOP: Diameter: Design Cl11t I Flctor Gr•de: W• ll ThlckntH : PfOd1,1c:t RC·210 RC-220 RC~OO RC.eoo RC-700 RC .. 00 RC .. 10 RC.e20\nTtXH Texa• Texas Texas T1xa1 ru.•• Ttxa• Texas\nlntnistata lntrnt1te lnlrll•lllte tntra1t1t1 Jntra1tJ1t1 tntni1llt1 lntrHtate lntf\"lttlt•\nLow.stre11 Colherina Low-Stre11 C1thertna Low-Stress Catherina Low-StrHI Gatherina low-Slrt:H Galhertoa LOW·Slnlu GalheriOQ low-Stre1-1 Galherina low-Stre11\nGatherina\nNo No No No No No No No\nCltgoW11t CltgoW11t Valero Coastal Citgo Eaat Koch E11t RC.aoo RC.e10\nJ1v.Wn1 J1v1Una RG·210/220 RG.e20 RG.eoG RG .. 10 RG.e20 Jav.Una\n1.07 1.5' 0.85 0-'3 0.52 0.20 1.07 l.12\n431 polg 438 p•lg 522 pola 522 polg 522 polQ 431 pslg 431 polg 315 palg\n11% 11% 9% 9% 9% 11% 11% 1•%\n9t pslg 99 polg 99 p1lg 99 pslg 9t p•lg 99 p1lg 9t pala 9tp1lg\n75 palg 75 pslg 75 p1lg 75 pala 76 pllg 75 plig 76 polg 75 pslg\n20 20 16.76 11.75 16.76 20 20 2•\n0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5\nX-35 X-35 X-36 X-35 X-35 X-36 X-35 X-35\n0.25 0.26 0.25 0.26 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.26\nN1ttG11 NattG11 NaUG11 Natt G11 N1UG11 Natt G11 N1UG11 NaUGal\nClassification of Pipelines:\nBoth the definition of a transmission line in Title 49 CFR Part 192 and a subsequent 6-part Federal Energy\nRegulatory Commission (FERG) \"primary function test\" illustrate the RG pipelines are not transmission. The\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nappropriate definition of the RG pipelines is low-stress gathering per Title 49 CFR Part 192 and API RP 80.\nTo further define, the pipelines are Type B Regulated Gathering as they are in a Class 3 location.\nTitle 49 CFR Subpart 192.3 Definitions: transmission line means a pipeline, other than a gathering line, that:\n(1) Transports gas from a gathering line or storage facility to a distribution center. storage facility, or large\nvolume customer that is not down-stream from a distribution center; (2) operates at a hoop stress of 20\npercent or more of SMYS; or (3) transports gas within a storage field. The function of the RG pipelines is to\ntransport non-transmission quality refinery off-gas for gas processing with a 99 psig MAOP. The MAOP\ntranslates into a range of 9-14% of the Specified Minimum Yield Strength (SMYS). Therefore, the MarkWest\nRG pipelines do not meet any of the transmission line definitions.\nThe gathering function is also supported under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) precedent.\nFERC has established the \"primary function test\" for determining whether facilities are gathering facilities,\nwhich are non-jurisdictional facilities, as opposed to transmission facilities, over which FERC has jurisdiction.\nSee Northwest Pipeline GP Parachute Pipeline LLC, 127 FERC 61,261 (2009). The \"primary function test\"\nconsiders the physical and geographical attributes of a system through the analysis of six specific factors. In\nsummary, of all the six physical and geographical factors support the conclusion that the RG pipelines serve\ngathering functions. The RG pipeline lengths range from 0.2 to 1.54 miles and from 16 to 24 inches in\ndiameter (factor one); the RG pipelines are in the same state as the refineries from which they receive gas\nand the processing plant to which they deliver gas (factor three); the RG pipelines are upstream of the\nprocessing plant (factor four); the RG pipelines are in close proximity to, and interconnected with one of the\nsix refineries which supply natural gas to the processing plant (factor five); and the \\ow operating pressure of\nthe RG pipelines (99 psig MAOP which range from 9 to 14 %SMYS) (factor six).\n( 1) The length and diameter of pipelines;\nThe first factor acknowledges that pipelines which are shorter in length and smaller in diameter typically\nserve gathering purposes. The RG pipelines are from 0.2 to 1.54 miles and from 16 to 24 inches in\ndiameter, and because FERC has found that pipelines 60 miles long and 20 inches in diameter serve a\ngathering function, the Pipelines' length and diameter weigh in favor of a gathering designation. See\nStraight Creek Gathering, LP, 117 FERC 61,005 (2006).\n(2) The extension of the facilities beyond the central point in the field;\nThe second factor examines the extension of the pipelines beyond the central point in the field and typically\nis used in the absence of a processing plant. See Eagle Rock DeSoto Pipeline L.P., 126 FERC 61 ,092\n(2009). This factor does not apply in this instance because the RG pipelines transport gas to a processing\nplant. The location and implications of the processing plant are addressed in the fourth factor below.\n(3) The facilities' geographical configuration;\nWith regard to the third factor, FERC views the existence of an entire system within one state as being\nconsistent with categorization as a gathering system. Thus, the fact that the RG pipelines lie in the same\nstate as the refineries and processing plant provides further support of a gathering designation.\n(4) The location of compressors and processing plants;\nThe fourth factor views pipelines as gathering when they are located upstream of a processing plant.\nFurther, little or no compression on the pipeline is also indicative of gathering. The RG pipelines are\nlocated upstream of MarkWest's processing plant with no compression, which provides further support of\na gathering designation.\n(5) The location of the wells along all or part of a system; and\nFactor five views the existence of a pipeline close to the production field as being consistent with a\ngathering system. While the RG pipelines are not close to natural gas production fields, but rather receive\ngas produced by the refining of globally-sourced feedstock's, this factor still supports the conclusion that\nthe RG pipelines function as gathering lines. The RG pipelines are in close proximity to, and interconnected\nwith the six refineries that supplies natural gas to the processing plant. Under these circumstances, the\nrefineries are analogous to a natural gas production well, insofar as the refinery produces natural gas that\nis gathered by the Pipelines for transport to the plant for further processing into interstate pipeline quality\nnatural gas.\n(6) The operating pressures of the pipelines.\nFactor six notes that generally lower operating pressures are consistent with gathering functions.\nMarkWest operates the RG pipelines at 75 psig with a 99 psig Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure\n(MAOP). The MAOP translates into a range of 9-14% of the Specified Minimum Yield Strength (SMYS).\nIn addition to the six factors, FERC also considers the purpose, location, and operation of the facilities, the\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\ngeneral business activities of the owner of the facilities, and whether the jurisdictional determination is\nconsistent with the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA). In this regard, while\nMarkWest is a midstream company that primarily engages in the gathering and processing of natural gas\nand natural gas liquids, a small portion of MarkWest's operations also involves the transportation of natural\ngas and liquid hydrocarbons and thus engages in non-gathering transmission activities governed by FERG.\nThe overall purpose of the RG pipelines is not to transport natural gas in interstate commerce, but rather to\ntransport refinery off-gas for further processing, which is a gathering purpose.\nMarkWest looks forward to your response. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me at\n303-925-9299 or via email, Leanne.Meyer@markwest.com.\nBest regards,\n~~y(~-\nLeanne M. Meyer, P.E.\nVP Environmental, Safety, Pipeline Integrity and Operations Support Services\nLeanne.Meyer@markwest.com\n303-925-9299 (office)\n303-549-0344 (cell)","truncated":false,"body_characters":14660}