Ohio Asks Feds to Stop Rover Pipeline Horizontal Drilling

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has once again asked the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to put a halt to Energy Transfer Partners LP's (NYSE:ETP) (Dallas, Texas) horizontal drilling under the Tuscarawas River for construction of the Rover natural gas pipeline. The request comes after the agency learned that 146,000 gallons of drilling fluid had been lost at the site, where a spill previously occurred. Energy Transfer's website claims that the spill did not occur.

The Rover Pipeline will carry up to 3.25 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales to the U.S. Midwest and Ontario. A portion of the pipeline in Ohio, carrying 1.7 Bcf/d, already is in operation, and the remainder is expected to be completed this quarter. Energy Transfer says it is more than 76% complete with horizontal drilling and 99% complete on all construction activities for the project.

Construction on the $4.2 billion pipeline began in 2016. In May last year, FERC temporarily halted horizontal drilling under the Tuscarawas River after 2 million gallons of drilling fluid was released into the Tuscarawas wetlands. That fluid contained traces of diesel, which is not allowed in drilling fluid. For more information on the active Ohio portions of the project, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Clarington, Tiffin and Belmont sections of the pipeline.

Industrial Info continues tracking $15.3 billion in Energy Transfer projects. Among the largest of these is a joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS-A) (The Hague, Netherlands) for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Construction on the first 5.5 million-ton-per-year train could begin later this year, taking about three years to complete. The project has received approval from FERC for siting, construction and operating and the Department of Energy for LNG export for countries with and without free trade agreements with the U.S. The project is occurring at an existing LNG import site in Lake Charles. The initial train could be followed by two additional trains, each adding another 5.5 million tons per year of production capacity. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on Train 1, Train 2 and Train 3.

In Texas, Energy Transfer is adding a fifth natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation train at its facility in Mont Belvieu. Construction began last year and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. The train will add 120,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of capacity to the facility, bringing the total up to 540,000 BBL/d. S&B Engineers and Constructors Limited (Houston, Texas) is performing engineering, procurement and construction on the project, which has an estimated total investment value (TIV) of $350 million. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Pennsylvania, Energy Transfer is underway with construction of a grassroot cryogenic natural gas processing plant near Bulger. The plant will have a processing capacity of 440 million cubic feet per day to produce NGL and fractionated ethane from the Marcellus and Upper Devonian areas. Construction on the $250 million project began in the second half of 2016 and is expected to be completed shortly. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.