MarkWest, Sunoco in Deal to Provide Marcellus Ethane Byproduct
Washington PA Observer Reporter
4 June 2010
MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. and Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. have
announced a combined pipeline and marine project for ethane produced in
the Marcellus Shale Basin, with MarkWest’s Houston fractionalization
plant serving as the centerpiece for the project.
According to a press release, the Mariner distribution project is
anticipated to have initial capacity to transport up to 50,000 barrels
per day of ethane, a byproduct of natural gas that is used as a
feedstock for ethylene production.
The partnership said it plans to ship the ethane to Gulf Coast markets
as soon as the second quarter of 2012 and said the project could be
scaled to transport higher volumes to support additional ethane
production in the Marcellus region.
MarkWest, through its Liberty Midstream & Resources division, has
been working with key producers and petrochemical consumers since late
2009 and the project is supported by key producers including Range
Resources and Chesapeake Energy.
The Mariner Project includes MarkWest Liberty making minor
modifications to its processing facilities to recover sufficient ethane
to allow the residue gas to meet interstate gas pipeline specifications
and installing additional facilities at its Houston processing complex
to separate the ethane for delivery to downstream Mariner Project
facilities.
MarkWest Liberty will also construct a 45-mile pipeline from the
Houston complex to an interconnection with an existing Sunoco Logistics
pipeline at Delmont in Westmoreland County.
The ethane will be transported to an existing East Coast facility where
Sunoco Logistics will construct refrigerated ethane storage facilities.
It will then be transported via marine vessel to premium markets in the
Gulf Coast. In addition, the existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline crosses
many of the large pipelines transporting natural gas into the
northeast, which will provide multiple ethane blending options.