Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) on Tuesday announced it would extend the binding open season for its Utica Marcellus Texas Pipeline (UMTP), which would carry Appalachian natural gas liquids (NGL) to the Texas Gulf Coast.

The open season was scheduled to close on Tuesday (see Daily GPI, June 17). But the company said the extension would allow it to review shipper comments and continue to seek commitments for the pipeline. The open season is now scheduled to close on Dec. 15.

“We continue to receive strong interest from shippers for this opportunity to transport products from the Utica and Marcellus basins to the Gulf Coast,” said Don Lindley, president of KMI’s NGL products pipelines. “This extension allows Kinder Morgan to align our transportation solution with shipper interests based on the feedback we’ve received on the project.”

UMTP would involve the abandonment and conversion of 964 miles of natural gas capacity on KMI’s existing Tennessee Gas Pipeline; the construction of 200 miles of new pipeline from Louisiana to Texas; new storage in Ohio, and 120 miles of new laterals to provide basin connectivity. The project would cost $4 billion and be designed to transport propane, butane, natural gas, y-grade and condensate in batches along the system with a capacity of 430,000 b/d.

Moving Appalachian NGLs to the Gulf Coast has been proposed by other operators in recent years. In 2013, KMI proposed transporting gas from the Utica Shale to the Gulf Coast, which would have involved repurposing a mainline to carry NGLs from Ohio (see Daily GPI, Nov. 21, 2013).

That project involved partnering with MarkWest Energy Partners LP. Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners stepped up to compete with that proposal with the now dead Bluegrass pipeline. Williams said last year it would not gamble on liquids takeaway until more shippers demonstrated support (see Daily GPI, May 14, 2014).