When you talk about energy molecules, propane takes the prize for the most versatile. In addition to its well-known uses for BBQ grills, indoor cooking, and home heating, propane is used for drying crops, as a feedstock for petrochemicals, as an engine fuel for forklifts and fleet vehicles, and in recent years, as an export product in its own right. Propane moves to market on pipelines, railcars, ships, barges, trucks — just about any form of transportation you can imagine. But exactly how any particular molecule of propane makes the journey from the instant it comes out of a well to all those market destinations can be a mystery to all but a small cadre of propane market insiders. In another in our series of updates to RBN’s greatest hit blogs, we are delving into this mystery, one step at a time, today focusing on transportation from the producing basin to storage and fractionation at the Mont Belvieu hub, and the transformation of the generic commodity to a marketable fuel.
Visualize the infrastructure behind U.S. NGL movement.
The U.S. NGLs Map provides a comprehensive view of the transport, processing, and export networks moving NGLs across the U.S.
In this blog series, we are tracking the journey of a typical propane molecule from the point that it departs a shale formation 10,000 feet below the surface of West Texas until it arrives at the burner tip of a propane BBQ grill in your backyard. In Part 1, we started with the moment our little propane molecule squeezed through a fracture in the Permian’s Spraberry formation and into the wellbore of Brook-Funkhouser 19-A — B-F 19-A for short — a Pioneer Natural Resources well in Upton County, TX, about 40 miles due south of Midland. Our molecule reached the surface as part of a bubbling, comingled, multi-phase stream of crude oil, produced water, and natural gas laden with natural gas liquids (NGLs) and a host of impurities. It then was processed through a two-phase vertical separator and entered a heater treater where it was “flashed off” with the stream of NGL-rich natural gas. Next stop, the gas gathering system, where our molecule was jostled and bounced through a maze of small-diameter pipelines before arriving at Targa Resources’ 200-MMcf/d Joyce natural gas processing plant. There, things got really chilly, down to minus 120 degrees Fahrenheit. At that point, most of the NGLs in the gas stream, including our little molecule, condensed into liquid phase, while the methane kept on flowing into a natural gas pipeline.
Join Backstage Pass to Read Full Article
About the song
"The Long and Winding Road" was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon-McCartney. It appears as the seventh cut on side two of The Beatles’ 12th studio album, Let It Be. Released as a single in May 1970, the song went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It would be the 20th and last #1 single for The Beatles. McCartney wrote the song at his farm in Scotland, inspired by the growing tensions in the band during the filming of the “Let It Be” documentary film. McCartney was unhappy with the orchestral and chorale overdubs added to the song by producer Phil Spector. In 2003, McCartney oversaw the remix of Let it Be, entitled Let It Be...Naked. In that version, he removed the Spector embellishments and presented the song in its raw form. Personnel on the record were: Paul McCartney (lead vocals, acoustic piano), John Lennon (bass), George Harrison (electric guitar), Ringo Starr (drums), and Billy Preston (Fender Rhodes electric piano).
Let It Be is the 12th and final released studio album of The Beatles. It was recorded at Twickenham Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London between January 1969 and April 1970 as part of a documentary film showing The Beatles returning to their live-performing roots. In the finished film, you can sense the discord among the band members — they were basically breaking up The Beatles as the cameras rolled. The Spector-produced Let It Be album was released in May 1970, and went to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. It has been certified 4X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Three singles were released from the LP.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1962. With band members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, The Beatles changed the face of rock and roll. The band was featured in four motion pictures, and released 23 studio albums, five live albums, 53 compilation albums, 21 EPs, and 63 singles. They have sold more than 600 million records worldwide. The band has won one Academy Award, four Brit Awards, seven Grammy Awards, and 15 Ivor Novello Awards. They have a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. All four Beatles are Members of the Order of the British Empire. Paul McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in March 1997; Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) was knighted by the Duke of Cambridge in March 2018. The Beatles officially broke up in April 1970. John Lennon died in 1980, followed by George Harrison in 2001. McCartney and Starr continue to record and tour as solo artists.
