EnLink Midstream’s Ohio River Valley Condensate Pipeline, Utica Shale, Ohio

EnLink Midstream aims to expand its operations in the Utica Shale region of south-east Ohio by building a 72km-long pipeline dubbed the Ohio River valley condensate pipeline. The $250m condensate pipe line project involving six natural gas compression and condensate stabilisation facilities was announced by EnLink Midstream in August 2014.

EnLink Midstream has extensive pipeline operations in Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and owns an integrated network of assets for crude oil and condensate transportation in Ohio River Valley. The proposed condensate pipeline is an extension to the company’s existing condensate pipelines in Ohio and West Virginia.

The new pipeline will have an initial capacity of approximately 50,000 barrels per day (bdp) and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2015. The capacity can be expanded based on customers’ requirements.

Ohio River Valley condensate pipeline project details

The 45-mile long Ohio River Valley condensate pipeline will have 8in diameter. It will connect to the company’s existing 200-mile pipeline in eastern Ohio and West Virginia.

Six new condensate stabilisation and natural gas compression stations will be built in Noble, Belmont and Guernsey counties. The stations will have combined capacity of approximately 41,500bpd of condensate stabilisation and approximately 560 million cubic feet per day natural gas compression capacity. The first two condensate stabilisation and compression facilities are expected to be operational in the second half of 2014 while the remaining are scheduled to commence operation by the end of 2015.

EnLink Midstream has made a long-term, fee-based agreement with Eclipse Resources, an oil and gas company based in Pennsylvania, for stabilisation and compression services as well as the purchase of stabilised condensate.

EnLink will also expand its midstream assets in Utica Shale in order to support the project. The company’s existing Bells Run barge terminal on the Ohio River, which provides access to leading crude and condensate markets in the region, will be expanded to increase the capacities of its condensate handling facilities and storage facilities.

The company will also increase the total storage capacity of its barge facility to 360,000 barrels by adding approximately 120,000 barrels of above ground storage.

EnLink Midstream’s Ohio River Valley operations

EnLink Midstream’s Ohio River Valley (ORV) business comprises of an integrated network of midstream assets in Utica shale and Marcellus shale regions including a 4,500 barrels per hour crude oil and condensate barge-loading terminal on the Ohio River, 200mi of crude oil and condensate pipelines of 17,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity in Ohio and West Virginia, a 24,000bpd capacity rail loading terminal on the Ohio Central Railroad network, 500,000 barrels of aboveground storage facility, a trucking fleet of more than 100 vehicles, three stabilisation facilities with a capacity of 16,000bpd, and eight brine disposal wells with a maximum injection capacity of 10,000bpd.

The company has access to local refinery markets through pipeline, barge and rail modes, while Gulf coast, East Coast, West Coast and Canadian refinery markets are accessible through barge or rail networks.

The Ohio River Valley Condensate Pipeline project will double EnLink’s capital investment in Ohio River Valley to approximately $500m.