The rupture of a pipeline transporting natural gas liquids from the Marcellus/Utica Shale gas-producing play in southwestern Pennsylvania to the Texas Gulf Coast could impact NGL production at two de-ethanizer facilities, sources said Tuesday.
A segment of the 20-inch-diameter ethane-only Appalachia-to-Texas (ATEX) Pipeline ruptured Monday in Brooke County, West Virginia, and burned for several hours before the fire was extinguished, Rick Rainey, a spokesman for pipeline operator Enterprise Products Partners, said Tuesday.
The rupture occurred about 25 miles from the pipeline’s origination point in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and flows on that segment are shut, while flows on the downstream side of the rupture — which include the vast majority of the pipe all the way to Mont Belvieu, Texas — continue, Rainey said.
“The pipeline has four injection points and two were impacted that are coming from Washington County and anything upstream of that,” Rainey said. Injections from the other two facilities downstream of the blast were unaffected by the rupture, he said.
The two impacted facilities — the MarkWest Energy Partners Houston de-ethanizer in Washington County and Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium de-ethanizer in Marshall County, West Virginia — have a total capacity of 97,000 b/d, data from Platts unit Bentek Energy showed.
As a result of the rupture, the ATEX pipeline is operating at reduced rate, Rainey said.
ATEX has a nameplate capacity of 125,000 b/d but was operating below capacity when the explosion occurred. Based on the latest US Energy Information Administration data, the pipeline was flowing about 54,000 b/d in October, and Bentek estimates that flows had increased to 61,000 b/d this month prior to the explosion.
Rainey said the pipeline “had been running at over 68,000 b/d to close to 70,000 b/d” and was projected to reach flows of close to 80,000 b/d later this year.
Ethane produced in association with natural gas production can be used as a feedstock in the petrochemical industry. However, when there is no way to get the ethane to a market, such as when a rupture shuts down a portion of a ethane-carrying pipeline, that ethane is rejected, or allowed to remain in the natural gas stream.
Bentek is only able to see outlet flows of residue gas from the Majorsville processing plant in Marshall County, West Virginia.
Comparing Tuesday’s volumes to Monday levels, volumes have increased by 96 MMcf/d to 681 MMcf/d. This could be a result of increased ethane rejection from the plant, but it will not be clear until Texas Eastern releases gas quality data for Tuesday.
Rainey said Enterprise learned of the explosion and fire around 10:40 am EST (1540 GMT) Monday in a remote area of Brooke County. There were no injuries and no major structural damage, although one house sustained some siding damage, he said.
Enterprise is currently working with the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to determine the cause of the rupture, Rainey said.
“There is no current estimate when the pipeline will be fully operational,” he said.
– Platts.com
