Mariner East 2 NGL pipeline begins service

Energy Transfer Partners' 275,000 b/d Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline is now in service, connecting the Marcellus shale producing area to the export dock at Marcus Hook, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The pipeline, which has faced years of legal and regulatory delays because of homeowner and environmental complaints, will initially run below 200,000 b/d as the company uses a repurposed 12-inch (30cm) products pipeline to circumvent a section of the mainline in Chester and Delaware counties.

The line carries ethane, propane and butane from gas processing plants in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The Marcus Hook terminal stores NGLs for distribution and offers refrigerated loading of cargoes, with much of the exported volume destined for markets in northwest Europe. Propane and ethane are currently exported from the same terminal via the 70,000 b/d Mariner East 1 pipeline.

Energy Transfer announced a new open season on ME2 on 30 November, seeking commitments for transportation from the Marcellus to Claymont, Delaware, and Marcus Hook. A 250,000 b/d parallel line, Mariner East 2X, is scheduled to begin service by the end of 2019.

The start of service on Mariner East 2 comes after months of legal battles with Pennsylvania regulators and homeowner complaints over directional drilling during its construction. On 11 December, an administrative law judge for the state's Public Utility Commission denied residents' request for an emergency order halting work on the line.

But on 19 December, the Chester County district attorney announced his office would launch a criminal investigation into the construction of all three Mariner lines in that vicinity, claiming the company used "bullying" tactics with residents and demanding more information about sinkholes and any geologic anomalies in the area. An Energy Transfer statement that same day called the claims "baseless" and said the company would aggressively defend itself against the district attorney's allegations.

Energy Transfer subsidiary Sunoco Logistics was fined $12.6mn by Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection in February for permit violations related to construction.

source: Argus Media