Sunoco pipeline project to help supply local propane markets

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP announced a successful open season for Sunoco Pipeline LP’s $2.5 billion Mariner East 2 project, the second phase of the company’s broader plan to provide critical pipeline transportation from the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Mariner East 2 will expand the Mariner East service to deliver natural gas liquids (NGLs), including propane, from the liquid-rich shale areas in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and eastern Ohio to Sunoco Logistics’ Marcus Hook industrial complex on the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, where it will be stored and distributed to various local, domestic and international markets.

Mariner East 2 is anticipated to provide an initial capacity of 275,000 barrels per day (bpd) of NGLs. Combined with Mariner East 1 capacity, the Mariner East project will provide 345,000 bpd of total NGL takeaway capacity from the shale regions.

As part of the investment, the Mariner East projects will also allow for additional propane to be available for consumers in local markets during high-demand periods, such as last winter, via distribution terminals at points along the line, the company adds.

Mariner East 1 is expected to begin propane service by the end of 2014, while Mariner East 2 is expected to become operational by the end of 2016.

Sunoco Logistics is also developing the addition of an NGL manufacturing complex, including a propane dehydrogenation plant at Marcus Hook for the manufacture of propylene.