What Are Marathon's Utica Shale Plans?

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From RBN Energy:
At the DUG East conference MPLX described a multi stage strategy to supply Utica condensate and crude oil to MPC assets – initially to the condensate splitters and then to other regional refineries. MPLX is also looking to provide third party shippers of crude, condensate and natural gasoline with additional routes to market to the East, Midwest, Gulf Coast and Canada. 
 
Source: MPC Presentation at DUG East, November 15, 2013 and RBN Energy (Click to Enlarge)
MPLX provided further detail about the proposed pipeline infrastructure last week. The map above shows the route of the initial pipeline – to be called Cornerstone (orange dotted line) that will link natural gas processing and fractionation facilities to the Canton refinery. The pipeline route would link two gas-processing facilities owned by MarkWest Energy Partners LP at Cadiz (185 MMcf/d cryogenic plant today – expanding to 385 MMcf/d in 3Q 2014) and M3 Midstream LLC (Momentum) at Leesville (200 MMcf/d cryogenic plant) and a fractionator at Scio also owned by M3 (90 Mb/d output). The two cryogenic plants process wet natural gas to separate NGLs from pipeline quality gas including “raw” condensate. The combined stream of NGLs – known as y-grade are then further processed in a fractionator to produce purity liquids including natural gasoline or C5 (see our “Golden Age of NGL Processing” blog series Part I, Part II, Part III , and Part IV for more on fractionation).  
The proposed 8-inch diameter Cornerstone pipeline (about 40 Mb/d capacity) will be batch operated to ship separate parcels of crude, condensate or natural gasoline. MPLX expects to ship raw condensate stabilized to meet pipeline specification from Cadiz and Leesville as well as natural gasoline from Scio. Cornerstone will deliver into the MPC Canton refinery (80 Mb/d crude capacity) via the East Sparta terminal to the south that has 0.5 MMBbl of product storage capacity. East Sparta connects to the MPLX refined products pipeline system (light blue lines on the map) that distribute Canton output to MPC terminals to the East at Midland, south at Steubenville and north at Youngsville. MPLX proposes making two small additions to this pipeline network to connect the M3 Kensington cryogenic plant (capacity 600 MMcf/d) and the MPC barge terminal at Wellsville that feeds the Catlettsburg refinery (240 Mb/d crude capacity).
Read the entire article here. 

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