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Bluegrass Pipeline to Begin 'Binding Open Season'
TULSA, Okla. -- Bluegrass Pipeline LLC, a joint venture between Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, tomorrow begins a “binding open season to determine industry commitments to natural gas liquids transportation capacity from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays to the petrochemical and export complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast.“
Phase one of Bluegrass Pipeline is being designed to provide customers with 200,000 barrels per day of mixed NGLs take-away capacity in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, the company says. Phase two would increase capacity to 400,000 barrels per day to meet market demand, primarily by adding additional liquids pumping capacity.
The pipeline would deliver mixed NGLs to proposed new fractionation and storage facilities that would connect to petrochemical facilities and product pipelines along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. The fractionation and storage facilities are expected to also connect to a proposed new liquefied petroleum gas export terminal that would offer producers an option for exporting propane and butane, which represent approximately 30% of the average NGL barrel, the company says.
"We have seen significant interest from the producer community regarding the value that the Bluegrass Pipeline can offer the market," said Jim Scheel, senior vice president of corporate strategic development at Williams. "We have been in discussion with many Utica and Marcellus Shale producers during the past year and we look forward to additional customer commitments before the end of this year."
The Bluegrass Pipeline project is comprised of three segments:
- Construction of a NGL pipeline from gas processing plants in producing areas in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania to an interconnect with Boardwalk's Texas Gas Transmission system near Hardinsburg, Ky.
- Conversion of a portion of existing pipeline on Texas Gas Transmission from natural gas service to NGL service from Hardinsburg to Eunice, La.
- Construction of a NGL pipeline from Eunice, La. to a proposed large-scale fractionation plant and expanding natural gas liquids storage facilities in the Lake Charles, La. area.
The proposed fractionation plant and storage facilities are a joint venture project between Williams and Boardwalk that have collectively been named Moss Lake Fractionation.
Williams and Boardwalk also recently announced a joint venture for the development of an LPG export terminal and related facilities near Lake Charles, La. on the Gulf Coast, named Moss Lake LPG Terminal. The combination of the Bluegrass Pipeline, Moss Lake Fractionation and Moss Lake LPG Terminal projects offers producers a comprehensive and flexible market solution for the total barrel of NGLs, the company says.
By combining new construction with an existing pipeline, Williams and Boardwalk believe that the Bluegrass Pipeline should be placed into service and begin serving customers sooner than other options. Williams and Boardwalk say they are engaged in comprehensive project development planning including permitting, public consultation and right-of-way acquisition.
Williams owns interests in or operates 15,000 miles of interstate gas pipelines, 1,000 miles of NGL transportation pipelines, and more than 10,000 miles of oil and gas gathering pipelines.
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners and its subsidiaries own and operate approximately 14,410 miles of natural gas and liquids pipelines and underground storage caverns with an aggregate working gas capacity of approximately 201 billion cubic feet and liquids capacity of approximately 18 million barrels.
SOURCE: Bluegrass Pipeline LLC
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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