Gas Gathering Pipeline
Our gas gathering systems are generally either acquired or developed pursuant to long-term contracts with gas producers, or the shippers they service. The contracts generally run over a period of time which approximates a majority of the economic life of the gas producers’ wells. We believe that having such contracts and an existing gathering system in place provides a significant barrier to entry to third parties seeking to compete with us upon the expiration of our contracts.
We contract with third parties to perform preventive and normal maintenance on our gathering systems, and make repairs and replacements when necessary or appropriate. On our behalf, third parties also conduct routine and required inspections of our gathering and other assets as required by applicable code or regulation. External coatings and cathodic protection systems are used to protect against external corrosion. The systems are continually monitored and tested, and the results recorded, to ensure the early identification of any problem that may arise. We have contracted a third party to provide the necessary training to our employees as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
