Founded in 1995 in Dallas, TX, where it is also currently headquartered, Energy Transfer Gas Company is the most powerful Fortune 500 organization among natural gas pipelines in the world. Its current indenture comprises of 5,000 employees including the founder & CEO Kelcy Warren. The company is a master limited partnership (ETP formed in 2002 & ETE established in 2006) that administers one of the largest diversified portfolios of energy resources in the USA. Growing from approximately 200 miles of natural gas pipelines in 2002 to about 71,000 miles of natural gas, refined products, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) pipelines at present, the Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. continues to be dedicated to providing attractive returns to its investors and outstanding service to its customers.
From 2007 to 2010 the company acquired the rights of possession of Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Fayetteville Express Pipeline, Tiger Pipeline, Sea Robin Pipeline, Trunkline Pipeline, Panhandle Eastern, Transwestern Pipeline, and Florida Gas Transmission (50%).
The syndicate is now the second-largest natural gas transporter in the U.S, and 22% of country’s natural gas production is distributed through its pipelines. In total, ETP has the complete authoritative and administrative powers of 62,500 miles of natural gas and natural gas liquids pipelines. Since October 2012 ETP has ensured leadership as the biggest MLP transporter by becoming the sole proprietor of Sunoco Logistics Partners LP with the complete distributorship and ownership stimuli of 67.1 million common units, oil and gas terminalling acquisition and marketing capitals that facilitate the mechanizations of unrefined petroleum, natural gas liquids, and refined products.
As of 2016, their primary activities, all of which are in the United States, include:
• oil and gas midstream and intrastate commerce and storage in transit through La Grange Acquisition, L.P.,
• interstate natural gas storage in transit through ET Interstate which is the parent company of Transwestern, ET Rover Pipeline LLC., ETC Tiger, and CrossCountry and through Panhandle which is the parent company of the Trunkline and Sea Robin transmission systems,
• liquids operations, including NGL transportation, storage and fractional distillations services.
Adhering to all pertinent federative, state, and provincial environmental laws, directives, and standards, Energy Transfer pledges to the safety of its employees, the environment. Their ‘Safety Accountability Program’ commits to the initiation of safety standards and expectations. These types of standards and expectations are then communicated to all employees and contractors who are expected to maintain these specifications and obligations to make security the highest priority. The ETP management team is in charge of making the ‘Environmental Plan Manual’ an integral component of corporate tradition to provide the employees, clients, and subsidiaries of Energy Transfer better service.
In June 2014, Energy Transfer Partners issued a statement about their intention to extend its Dakota Access Pipeline plan to Patoka, Illinois. After achieving a successful outcome from the horizontal drilling and fracking in Bakken, a huge source of crude oil, the plan for a 1,134-mile pipeline to carry an estimated 500,000 barrels of oil through four states was formulated. However, in 2016, mass protests by environmentalists and Native Americans against the Dakota Access Pipeline erupted that drew worldwide attention and support.
The protest has been mainly over safety water with a particular concern for contamination. Oil contamination of water poses a significant threat and is potentially dangerous to public health. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ETP’s monitoring systems for the water safety issues are not enough to actually prevent contamination in case of serious problems. The #NoDAPL protests have since then gone viral with the involvement and subsequent arrest of noted journalist Amy Goodman, actress Shailene Woodley and hundreds of others. Since the massive support this protest has garnered and the state’s stance on the issues are constantly in conflict, the future of this project remains unclear.
