Ethane

FERC has granted approval for a rate structure for MarkWest’s $110 million Liberty Ethane Pipeline, which will transport ethane from Majorsville, WV, to Houston, PA, and give shippers the ability to tap into major pipeline systems that access key markets, including the U.S. Gulf Coast, Canada and other international markets.

FERC on Tuesday affirmed its jurisdiction over the interstate pipeline transport of purity ethane, asserting that the natural gas liquid (NGL) is both a feedstock and a fuel. In doing so it cited “future energy uses” of ethane in a number of proposed liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) projects.

The U.S. shale gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) revolution has launched 136 domestic chemical industry projects worth a combined $91.2 billion, with 54% of that investment coming from foreign entities, according to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) late December tally. The unprecedented growth is far from over, industry experts say.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Thursday that a Brazilian company, Odebrecht Organization, will explore the possibility of building a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker and three polyethylene plants in Wood County.

A binding open season through Dec. 9 is gauging interest in capacity on the proposed 30-mile Liberty Ethane Pipeline to transport purity ethane from Majorsville to Houston, PA, and on to markets in North America and overseas, said MarkWest Energy Partners LP.

A one-two punch will help knock down some of the Marcellus Shale ethane glut.

Enterprise Products Partners LPis expanding the size of its planned Aegis Pipeline to 20 inches in diameter to allow delivery of up to 425,000 b/d of ethane to the Gulf Coast petrochemical sector. The 270-mile Aegis pipeline will originate at Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu, TX, liquids storage complex and, through connections to other Enterprise-owned pipelines, will deliver purity ethane to ethylene production facilities between Beaumont, TX, and Napoleonville, LA. Aegis is to begin service in phases, with initial deliveries expected to begin during the second quarter of 2014. “As an extension of our midstream network that features access to 100 million bbl of storage capacity at our Mont Belvieu complex, the Aegis pipeline system offers a complete and integrated solution for meeting the needs of both producers and consumers of growing domestic supplies of ethane,” said Jim Teague, COO of Enterprise’s general partner. “Together, Aegis and our South Texas ethane pipeline enable Enterprise to provide ethylene facilities from Corpus Christi [TX] to the Mississippi River with reliable supplies of ethane through a header system anchored by our Mont Belvieu complex.” Enterprise is holding a supplemental open season through Nov. 14 for the capacity. For information, contact Russ Kovin, (713) 381-7925 orrkovin@eprod.com.

One week after revising its estimate for third quarter production, Gulfport Energy Corp. announced Tuesday that it has placed three wells targeting the Utica Shale in Ohio into production by connecting them to sales pipelines.

North America’s copious natural gas resources have led to a “competitive resurgence” driving low-cost ethylene production, but the growth has created challenges in the Middle East, where operators are facing the “opposite and unfamiliar challenge of ethane supply limitations,” according to IHS Chemical.