HOUSTON—Piñon Midstream LLC on April 27 announced its greenfield Dark Horse Sour Gas Treating and Carbon Capture Facility and associated pipeline infrastructure are under construction in Lea County, N.M.

Piñon was founded in December 2020 by Steven Green and Justin Bennett in partnership with Black Bay Energy Capital, to provide a long-term, economic and environmentally responsible solution to the pervasive sour gas problem that has constrained development in the northeastern Delaware Basin.

The project includes a centralized amine treating facility, an 18,000-foot-deep acid gas sequestration well (Independence AGI #1) and 30,000 horsepower of full NACE field compression and is expandable to treat up to 400 million cubic feet of sour gas per day. The Piñon assets are designed to gather and treat natural gas containing any concentration of H2S and CO2, with the ability to deliver treated sweet gas to multiple third-party gas processing plants.

“Our goal is to provide the most creative and cost-effective sour gas solution for the Delaware Basin,” said Piñon Midstream co-founder and President Steven Green. “Not only does our project provide a comprehensive solution for sequestering CO2 and H2S, it also substantially reduces flaring and greenhouse gas emissions in southeast New Mexico.”

The Dark Horse Facility and its associated pipelines are the first purpose-built sour gas infrastructure solution of its kind in the Delaware Basin. The Piñon facilities are underwritten by a substantial long-term dedication from anchor producer Ameredev II LLC, an independent exploration and production company with operations focused in the northern Delaware Basin.

“The Piñon team is providing a mission-critical solution to sustain development of the northeastern portion of the Delaware Basin,” said Ameredev COO Floyd Hammond. “Piñon’s facilities support some of the most prolific wells in the basin.”

Piñon expects the Dark Horse Facility will begin operations in July 2021 at full capacity, treating approximately 85 million cubic feet of sour gas per day. The company purchased a second amine treating plant that is scheduled to be installed and operational in the fourth quarter of 2021, increasing Piñon’s total sour gas treating capacity to approximately 170 million cubic feet per day.

“We are proud to say that our Independence AGI #1 sequestration well is New Mexico’s deepest and largest acid gas injection well,” said Piñon co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Justin Bennett. “It has the ability to permanently sequester up to 175,000 tons of CO2 and 75,000 tons of H2S annually. That capacity will double next year when we drill Independence AGI #2. The Piñon H2S and carbon capture solution opens the way for our customers to make meaningful enhancements to their ESG programs, which is a fundamental component of our business.”

“Black Bay is thrilled to be partnered with the Piñon team,” said Black Bay Energy Capital Managing Partner Michael LeBourgeois. “Piñon is led by a team of professionals with deep technical and commercial experience that have safely developed and operated numerous gas treatment plants. We are very familiar with the growing sour gas issues in the Permian Basin and believe that Piñon is well-positioned to provide an economical and environmentally friendly solution to the region.”