Energy Transfer Partners' Mariner East 1 NGL pipeline remained offline Monday, 12 days after the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ordered it shut because of nearby sinkholes and concerns about the pipeline's integrity.
"ME1 line [is] still down pending restart approval" by the PUC, ETP spokesman Jeff Shields said Monday in an email. "I don't have a timetable on their decision."
The pipeline was initially expected to be shut for 10-14 days following the March 7 emergency order, which the PUC ratified March 15.
Mariner East 1 moves ethane, propane and butane from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays to ETP's Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, export terminal.
But the terminal appears to be operating, as sources have said a propane cargo is expected to load this week after all. Barrels have been moving east via Enterprise's TEPPCO pipeline and by rail, sources said.
"I think they will be able to honor their commitments," a market source said of MarkWest, which had awarded a propane tender for loading this week, but had declared force majeure last week.
The Spread Eagle, a Petredec VLGC, is in Delaware Bay, near Marcus Hook, according to cFlow, S&P Global Platts trade flow software. The JS Ineos Ingenuity, an ethane carrier, departed from Marcus Hook Monday for Grangemouth, Scotland, cFlow data showed.
NGLs in Mont Belvieu, Texas, mostly tracked the oil complex lower Monday. Ethane was the only liquid in the region on the rise, climbing 62.5 points to 25.50 cents/gal, as of the Platts 1:30 pm CDT close.
Non-LST propane fell 1.75 cents to 78 cents/gal, or 53% of front-month crude futures. Butane dipped 1.5 cents to 88.375 cents/gal, while natural gasoline slid 1.25 cents to $1.42/gal, based on market indications at that level. No bids or offers tested that value in the Platts Market on Close assessment process.
