Philadelphia, PA: Marcellus shale Pipeline update

By Andrea: http://oilshalegas.com

As Marcellus Shale gas grows in popularity throughout Pennsylvania, operators are worried about transportation of the natural asset. However, a solution is underway thanks to Sunoco Logistics Partners. Sunoco recently struck a deal with Markwest Energy Partners (MWE) to transport ethane produced in the Marcellus shale to a Delaware River facility for shipment by sea to the Gulf coast. The terminal will be refrigerated to store supercooled ethane at one of Sunoco's existing facilities.

The plan is for Markwest to construct a 45-mile pipeline from Houston, PA and connect it with Sunoco's existing 8-inch diameter pipeline in Delmont, PA. That liquid-fuels pipeline crosses Pennsylvania to connect to Sunoco production facilities in the Philadelphia area.

Deborah M. Fretz, chief executive officer of Sunoco Logistics, said the company's underused pipeline "is well-positioned to provide an efficient solution for producers to move ethane across Pennsylvania to a Delaware River marine port to access multiple markets."

The project will have the capacity to transport up to 50,000 barrels per day of ethane - 2.1 million gallons - when it starts up in 2012.

There is no information yet on the cost or the project or on earnings projections.

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