OPIS Global LPG: ACP Sets Out Timeline for Corridor Pipeline Project
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) laid out its proposed timeline for its corridor program, targeting a start up of operations in 2030, ACP Chief Business Development Officer Rafael Pirro said at the OPIS LPG conference in Houston.
The canal is at a critical juncture as it addresses both freshwater concerns and infrastructure concerns, Pirro said.
The Panama Canal remains the most efficient route from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia, providing the most value to the market.
To alleviate the freshwater concerns, an additional reservoir will open in the next four to five years. But this will only address part of the issues on the horizon, with more natural gas liquids (NGLs) expected to transit through the canal in the years to come.
In 2024, approximately 37 million metric tons of LPG transited through the canal. But by 2040, the ACP projects this to reach 53 million mt, with NGL transits reaching six per day.
The ACP has proposed an ambitious project to build three pipelines to carry propane, butane and ethane from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, with a transfer capacity of up to 397,500 cubic meters or 2.5 million b/d.
The propane transfer capacity would be up to 270,300 cubic meters, while butane capacity would be up to 31,800 cubic meters and ethane up to 95,400 cubic meters.
Additionally, tank storage facilities will be built on the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines holding up 1.9 million cubic meters.
The ACP laid out its timeline which began in 2023, where it sought feasibility studies and began conducting cost estimates, legal reviews and environmental studies.
In March, the ACP board of directors approved plans to develop the initiative.
The request for qualification is expected in December. In March 2026, the solicitation phase will commence before bid proposals. Contracts are expected to be awarded in July and October 2026.
Following this, the FEED stage will begin in July 2027, FID in August 2027 and EPC in September 2027, Pirro noted.
Start up and commencement of operations is expected in 2030.
Pirro remained coy on how the individual grade-specs would be separated, noting that it would be ‘fungible.’
Questions remain around the logistics from a shipping perspective, the operations costs to transit via the pipelines, the infrastructure and certification required around the guarantee of a certain spec, as well as the time efficiency of using the pipeline.
–Reporting by Jamie Aldridge, jaldridge@opisnet.com; Editing by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com
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