Kinder Morgan eyes ethanol pipeline test for Sunshine State

摘要

While majors, independents and the state argue about E-10 specs in Florida, terminal operators have made the commitment to provide segregated storage for ethanol. In fact, Kinder Morgan has told barge and pipeline customers that it should have more than 200,000 bbls of ethanol available by mid-April.rnBut that's only a portion of the pipeline giant's plans. According to Kinder Morgan documents obtained by Oil Express, the company is "aggressively pursuing an initiative to supply ethanol to Orlando via pipeline" by batching straight ethanol on the Central Florida Pipeline, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary.rnKM is set to test the process this year, but other pipeline and terminal operators are skeptical about the likely success. There have been attempts to move ethanol via pipeline before, but no company has yet to commit to the process or work out all the kinks. While ethanol routinely moves by pipeline in Brazil, that country does not impose the same scrutiny or requirements as the U.S.