April 2013, Vol. 240 No. 4
Projects
Williams/Boardwalk JV To Develop NGL Pipeline
Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners have formed a joint venture to develop a pipeline to transport NGLs from the infrastructure-constrained Marcellus and Utica Shale plays to the rapidly expanding petrochemical and export complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast as well as the developing petrochemical market in the Northeast.
The proposed Bluegrass Pipeline would provide producers with 200,000 bpd of mixed NGLs take-away capacity in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The proposed pipeline could be increased to 400,000 bpd to meet market demand, primarily by adding additional liquids pumping capacity.
It would deliver mixed NGLs from these producing areas to proposed fractionation and storage facilities which would have connectivity to petrochemical facilities and product pipelines along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. Williams and Boardwalk are also exploring development of an export LPG terminal and related facilities on the Gulf Coast to provide customers access to international markets.
The Bluegrass Pipeline would include: building a new NGL pipeline from producing areas in West Virginia and Ohio to an interconnect with Boardwalk’s Texas Gas Transmission, LLC system (Texas Gas) in Hardinsburg, KY; converting a portion of Texas Gas from Hardinsburg, KY to Eunice, LA (the TGT Loop line) from natural gas service to NGL service, including construction of pump stations and related facilities; and constructing a large-scale fractionation plant and expanding natural gas liquids storage facilities in Louisiana and a pipeline connecting these facilities to the converted TGT Loop Line.
By combining construction with an existing pipeline, Williams and Boardwalk believe Bluegrass Pipeline can be placed into service and begin serving customers sooner than other options. Plans call for the project to sanctioned this year and placed into service in mid 2015.
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