Piñon Midstream continues expansion

Piñon Midstream has commissioned its third 450-GPM amine treating unit which is now in service at its sour natural gas treating and carbon capture facility, the Dark Horse Treating Facility in Lea County, New Mexico.

In addition, Piñon has received a critical New Source Review (NSR) air permit, which the company said enables the execution of additional capital expansion projects at Dark Horse, including construction of Amine Trains IV, V and VI, as well as two cryogenic processing plants.

On May 8, Piñon successfully placed Amine Train III in-service at the Dark Horse Treating Facility, increasing the sour natural gas treating capacity of the facility by 50% to ~270 MMcf/d. The Dark Horse Treating Facility includes a total of 1,350 GPM of amine treating and two (2) operational Devonian acid gas injection wells, each with depths of ~18,000 feet, permitted for 20 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of acid gas injection.

In February, Piñon received a critical NSR air permit, opening the way for future growth projects at the Dark Horse Treating Facility. Incremental infrastructure and expansions that are included in the newly approved NSR air permit include:

Three (3) additional 900 GPM amine treating units (Amine Trains IV, V, and VI), each with capacity up to 220 MMscfd;

• Two (2) cryogenic processing plants with total permitted processing capacity of 460 MMscfd;
• Three (3) TEG dehydrators for Amine Trains IV, V, and VI;
• One (1) 10,000 BBL/d condensate stabilizer; and
• 4,400 barrels of storage capacity.

“With the recent receipt of the NSR permit, Piñon is well-positioned to significantly expand our sour gas treating and carbon capture operations within the Delaware Basin,” said Piñon CEO Steven Green. “This important milestone underscores our mission to unlock substantial acreage across the Delaware Basin while improving the environmental impact of oil & gas production.”

In April 2024, Piñon completed the expansion of its sour natural gas gathering system through the addition of ~5 miles of fully NACE-compliant 16-in. high pressure steel pipeline. Piñon also completed installation of its fifth fully NACE compliant compressor station, the Comanche Peak Compressor Station. Piñon now owns and operates over 15 miles of fully NACE compliant 16-in. high pressure steel pipeline and five compressor stations with ~270 MMcf/d of total sour gas compression capacity.