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Falcon Pipeline to Send Ethane to Royal Dutch Shell Through Ohio Valley

CADIZ — Ethane processed at MarkWest Energy facilities in the region will flow to the Royal Dutch Shell petrochemical complex that will be built near Monaca, Pa. via the planned Falcon Pipeline.

Plans provided by the Netherlands-based oil giant’s subsidiary, Shell Pipeline Co., indicate the new infrastructure would carry approximately 107,000 barrels of ethane per day from the MarkWest plants in Cadiz and Houston, Pa. to fuel the ethane cracker, with pipeline construction set to begin in 2018.

“The new pipeline will enhance ethane supply while building new and reliable infrastructure in a strategic growth market,” Shell Pipeline Executive Vice President John Hollowell said.

MarkWest now blends much of its ethane into the commercial methane stream for marketing as natural gas, while the firm sends the rest of its ethane out of the region via the ATEX Express pipeline or the Mariner East 1 pipeline.

According to the Falcon project’s map, the pipeline will run north from the Cadiz MarkWest plant to a point near Scio. The conduit will then pivot eastward to run through the northern portion of Jefferson County. It will then run under the Ohio River into Hancock County, where it will continue into Pennsylvania toward Monaca.

After nearly five years of speculation and anticipation, Shell officials in June confirmed they would build the giant ethane cracker along the Ohio River, approximately 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Organizers believe the endeavor will generate up to 6,000 construction jobs during the building phase, along with another 600 permanent jobs once the petrochemical plant is active.

This massive project will transform ethane derived from the Marcellus and Utica shales into ethylene and polyethylene, the basic components of the plastics industry. Officials said approximately 70 percent of North America’s ethane market lies within 700 miles of Pittsburgh.

Officials in Belmont County, meanwhile, anxiously await the final decision by Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical regarding plans to build a multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker at Dilles Bottom.

Company leaders are expected to announce a final decision early next year upon completing approximately $100 million worth of engineering and design work.

The majority of industry leaders believe there is enough ethane in the Marcellus and Utica shale region to support multiple new cracker plants and provide feedstock to other established plants around the globe. Ethane now flows across Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook refinery via the Sunoco Logistics Mariner East 1 project. The material then goes to Europe for processing in trans-Atlantic sea vessels.

Sunoco is now working on the Mariner East 2 pipeline, which the company plans to have carry additional ethane, propane, butane and other natural gas liquids through Pennsylvania by next year. The company estimates the total cost of its Mariner East project at $3 billion.

Sunoco maps show the Mariner lines will transport products refined at the Williams Energy Oak Grove plant and the Blue Racer Natrium facility in Marshall County, as well as the MarkWest and M3 Midstream sites in Harrison County.

Pipeline giant Kinder Morgan is also working on the $500 million Utopia Pipeline, which would send the ethane from MarkWest’s Cadiz plant to a connection with existing infrastructure in Michigan. The ethane would then go to Ontario, Canada for processing by NOVA Chemicals Corp.

These pipeline projects are in addition to the active ATEX Express pipeline that sends Marcellus and Utica ethane to the Gulf Coast, as well as Sunoco’s Mariner West project that already ships the material to the Nova facility in Canada.

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