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Enterprise Offering Marcellus-Mont Belvieu Ethane Capacity
Enterprise Products Partners LP is holding a binding open season through Nov. 10 for capacity on its proposed pipeline to transport ethane from the Marcellus and Utica shales to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The 1,230-mile pipeline would have an initial capacity of 125,000 b/d, which could be expanded. It would deliver ethane to Enterprise’s natural gas liquids storage complex at Mont Belvieu, TX. Through connections at Mont Belvieu, ethane production from the Marcellus and Utica shales would ultimately have direct or indirect access to every ethylene plant in the United States, according to Enterprise. The pipeline would be expected to begin operation in the first quarter of 2014.
“For more than a year, we have been working with producers in the Marcellus Shale play, and more recently the Utica Shale, to address the growing logistical needs to transport their ethane production and facilitate natural gas production from this liquids-rich region,” said Jim Teague, COO of Enterprise’s general partner. “We have also built facilities to serve the petrochemical industry on the Gulf Coast as it continues to expand its use of price-advantaged domestic ethane over more expensive imported crude oil derivatives.”
The northern portion of the project would be construction of a pipeline that would originate in Washington County, PA, and extend west, then southwest, following existing pipeline corridors. At Cape Girardeau, MO, it would interconnect with Enterprise’s existing 16-inch diameter TE Products Pipeline, which would be reversed to accommodate southbound delivery of ethane to the Gulf Coast. At the terminus of the TE Products Pipeline in Beaumont, TX, Enterprise would construct a 55-mile pipeline to Mont Belvieu.
“…[I]t’s become more and more apparent that Marcellus ethane producers need Gulf Coast chemical companies and those chemical companies on the Gulf Coast need Marcellus ethane,” Teague said in August (see Daily GPI, Aug. 10). “We have a pretty exciting project to bring this Marcellus ethane to the heart of the U.S. chemical hub in Mont Belvieu, and our discussions with shippers continue to advance and are gaining a lot of traction. The upside of this project makes us comfortable with a commitment threshold that’s not fully subscribed but is accretive.”
For information contact Russ Kovin at rkovin@eprod.com, or (713) 381-7925.
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