Without MarkWest Energy Partner’s group of Marcellus processing and fractionation plants, the nation’s largest producing gas field would have a rather large problem. After all, if not for the company’s Liberty Segment assets, many of the gasliquids riches from the Marcellus shale would have little-tono chance of making it to a market outside the Northeast.

“The simple fact of the matter is, if our processing plants weren’t there, today that gas would be shut-in,” Randy Nickerson, MarkWest’s chief commercial officer, tells Midstream Business. “It simply couldn’t flow.”

The conundrum boiled down to the ethane contained in the Marcellus’s swaths of rich-gas fields. As midstream insiders know, too much ethane running through gas pipelines can be both problematic and dangerous. Pipelines are legally required to adhere to certain standards that require gas to contain mostly methane, and just a little ethane.

Before the shale boom, the Marcellus controlled its ethane content by allowing it to be diluted by other gas—containing nearly pure methane—that was passing through the same pipeline system. That method of ethane management came to an abrupt end with the arrival of the shale revolution, which unlocked so much wet gas from the Marcellus that it was no longer possible to blend down the ethane in transit.

The solution to this challenge came with the gradual emergence of MarkWest’s processing and fractionation plants; which in total provide 1.6 billion cubic feet (Bcf)per day of processing capacity. Facility expansions, which will be completed by 2016, will bring MarkWest’s total processing capacity in the Marcellus to over 3.5 Bcf per day.

“Providing our producer customers with a premier set of fully integrated midstream services, which allows them to grow rich gas production and access markets, is a key focus for us. Realizing the entire U.S. only consumes around 70 Bcf per day of [natural] gas each year, and that the northeast constitutes over 20 Bcf per day of the total, makes this region a significant demand center,” Nickerson says.

The group of five

MarkWest has five processing complexes in the rich-gas areas of the Marcellus. In total, the Majorsville, Mobley, Sherwood, Keystone and Houston complexes currently provide 98,000 barrels (bbl.) per day of fractionation capacity for ethane and heavier natural gas liquids (NGLs). The rich-gas gathering systems boast 615 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day of total capacity. MarkWest also has 10 processing plants and five fractionation facilities under development in the region. In the coming years, these facilities will provide Marcellus producers with an additional 1.9 Bcf per day of cryogenic processing capacity and 134,000 bbl. per day of fractionation capacity, as well as an extensive NGL transportation system.

The Houston complex, located in Houston, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh, was constructed in 2008 and is MarkWest’s oldest complex in the Marcellus. It is surrounded by an extensive rich-gas gathering system with 615 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day of throughput capacity, largely serving the growing rich-gas production of Range Resources. At the end of June, Houston’s processing assets were operating at approximately 90% of capacity, while NGLs fractionated were nearly 49,000 bbl. per day.

Considered a key supply hub for Northeast NGLs, the Houston complex will play an increasingly important role in helping ethane find its way to end markets. MarkWest began its de-ethanization efforts at its Houston plant this past July, and it is currently the only midstream operator in the Northeast with the ability to produce purity ethane.

Right now, the Houston complex is connected via pipeline to Sunoco Logistic Partners LP’s Mariner West Pipeline, which transports Marcellus ethane to Sarnia, Ontario. Houston will also be connected to Sunoco’s Mariner East Pipeline, which will carry ethane to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, for export to international markets. Mariner East will begin delivering propane during the second half of 2014, and ethane during mid-2015. Houston will also be connected to Enterprise Products Partners LP’s ATEX Express Pipeline, which will be in service first-quarter 2014. ATEX will deliver ethane form the Marcellus to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Purity ethane sourced at MarkWest’s newest 38,000 bbl. per day de-ethanizer at the Houston complex is currently providing line fill for Mariner West and will eventually help supply ethane for Mariner East and ATEX as well.

“All of the projects are very exciting,” says Nickerson. “Our producer customers can access any of these three projects and have a choice for the destination of their ethane. It supports our business model and will be a critical part of what will be the big success of growth of gas in the Northeast. Our producers will be able to recover sufficient ethane to meet their firm downstream obligations and residue gas pipeline quality specifications.”

“The Houston complex is an incredibly important part of that.”

While Houston is a crucial part of the puzzle, it’s not the only piece. MarkWest’s other four complexes are also playing a significant role in processing and fractionation. Its Majorsville complex will be one of the largest gas processing complexes in the eastern U.S., with 870 MMcf per day of total cryogenic capacity by the first quarter of next year. MarkWest is also constructing two de-ethanizers at Majorsville and is building a purity ethane pipeline from Majorsville to Houston in order to help support the new pipeline projects.

“All of our processing plants sort of do the same thing. They open areas that could not have been explored beforehand,” says Nickerson. “But most importantly, they help our producer customers access rich-gas areas that could not have been developed beforehand.”

Planning ahead

MarkWest began recovering and fractionating liquids in the Northeast in the late 1980s. Even at the time, the company had a vision. Recognizing the region was unique in that it lacked adequate processing and takeaway capacity for liquids, it spent 25 years developing solutions and honing markets for recovered NGLs, says Nickerson.

“When we first moved into the Marcellus, we had a great head start understanding NGL markets in the northeastern U.S. We understood that the Northeast was different than any other part of the U.S.,” he says. “We work very closely with our 12 producer customers operating in southwest Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia to understand their unique needs and tailor innovative solutions.”

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