Bluegrass Pipeline LLC, which would carry natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Marcellus and Utica shales to petrochemical and export facilities on the Gulf Coast, is launching a binding open season Tuesday (Oct. 29) and running through Dec. 16.

The pipeline system is a joint venture of Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP that was unveiled in March and since has inched forward, with Williams slowly securing land rights and Boardwalk talking up customers (see Shale Daily, Sept. 11).

“We have seen significant interest from the producer community regarding the value that the Bluegrass Pipeline can offer the market,” said Williams’ Jim Scheel, senior vice president of corporate strategic development. “We have been in discussion with many Utica and Marcellus shale producers during the past year and we look forward to additional customer commitments before the end of this year.”

Bluegrass “offers a number of well-defined market options, both domestic and international, that offer attractive netbacks to the Utica and Marcellus producers,” said Boardwalk Chief Commercial Officer John Haynes.

The project would be built in three segments. The first phase would provide customers with 200,000 b/d of mixed NGL takeaway capacity in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania to an interconnect with Boardwalk’s Texas Gas Transmission, LLC system near Hardinsburg, KY.

Phase two would double capacity primarily by converting an existing pipeline on Texas Gas Transmission from natural gas service to NGL service from Hardinsburg to Eunice, LA (see Shale Daily, Aug. 12). The third segment involves building a NGL pipe from Eunice to a proposed fractionation facility and NGL storage facilities in the Lake Charles, LA area, collectively named Moss Lake Fractionation. Williams and Boardwalk also want to develop a liquefied petroleum gas export terminal near Lake Charles for access to international markets (see Shale Daily, Oct. 3).

Bluegrass could be placed into service in late 2015, depending on customer interest and assuming all necessary permits and approvals are received.

For information on the Bluegrass open season or for information about the proposed project segments, contact Williams’ Joe Edgeller, (918) 573-9917; Joe.Edgeller@williams.com; or Boardwalk’s Pat Giroir, (713) 479-8061; Patrick.Giroir@bwpmlp.com.

Bluegrass faces competition. In August Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and MarkWest Utica EMG LLC formed a midstream venture to pursue a y-grade NGL pipeline and facilities that closely mirrors the Bluegrass project (see Shale Daily, Aug. 9).