Complex

A target date of 2021 has been set to complete a new petrochemical plant for 22,000 b/d of propane from Alberta natural gas producers.

Phillips 66 has begun operations at its new 100,000 b/d natural gas liquids fractionator at the company’s Sweeny Complex in Old Ocean, TX. Sweeny Fractionator One supplies purity ethane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the petrochemical industry and heating markets. It is supported by 250 miles of new pipelines and a multi-million bbl storage cavern complex. More capacity to provide LPG is to be added in the future, the company said. LPG produced at Sweeny Fractionator One is being delivered via pipeline to local petrochemical customers as well as to the market hub at Mont Belvieu, TX. Phillips 66 will have the capability to place the LPG into global markets upon completion of its 150,000 b/d Freeport LPG Export Terminal in the second half of 2016 (see Daily GPI,Nov. 5, 2013).

Ryder Systems Inc., a transportation, logistics and supply chain management company that has made a large commitment to natural gas and other alternative transportation technologies, has an initiative to penetrate U.S. shale plays, CEO Robert Sanchez said during a second quarter earnings conference call.

GreenHunter Water LLC has begun to process complex oilfield waste streams at its bulk storage and barge transloading terminal in New Matamoras, OH, the GreenHunter Resources Inc. subsidiary said Friday.

Marcellus and Utica shale midstreamer MarkWest Energy Partners LP has expanded its service offerings in the Anadarko Basin in a $245 million cash agreement with Chesapeake Energy Corp.

The costly and complex decision to shift from being one of the biggest natural gas producers to becoming one of the largest liquids operators showed some positives for Chesapeake Energy Corp. in the first three months of this year, which also gained on improving natural gas prices.

Canada’s frontier shale drilling hot spot lived up to hopes for a new source of premium-grade oil, according to first results disclosed from 2012-2013 winter exploration in the central Mackenzie Valley region of the Northwest Territories.

Royal Dutch Shell plc has given no indication that it might back out of plans to build a world-scale petrochemical complex in Pennsylvania, but a developer working on a smaller project in the Northeast thinks bigger isn’t always better.

Based on success to date in developing a midstream system in the Utica Shale, The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) said it plans to spend an additional $450 million for its joint venture (JV) with MarkWest Energy Partners LP.