Enterprise ethane long-haul Atex pipeline ruptures

OREANDA-NEWS. A segment of Enterprise Products Partners' Appalachia-to-Texas (Atex) pipeline is out of service after a rupture this morning in Brooke County, West Virginia.

The 125,000 b/d Atex pipeline connects the Marcellus and Utica shale to Enterprise's facilities in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

A portion of the line from Brooke County to Washington County, Pennsylvania, where the line originates, is shut. Downstream of the rupture, the mainline connecting to Mont Belvieu is still operational.

There is still some residual product in the line that must be purged and there will be repair work that will need take place, Enterprise said.

The rupture occurred in a remote location and no injuries or surrounding structural damages were reported.

Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, but flames have since subsided and Enterprise has dispatched a crew to evaluate and begin the repair process on the line, pending approval from regulatory authorities.

Spot ethane prices at Mont Belvieu fell today. The market surfaced early, valued at 18.75?/USG, and fell to hit a low of 18.25?/USG. The market rebounded late in the session to 18.5?/USG.

Pending damage analysis, Enterprise will provide a timeline for the pipeline's restart.

The 1,230-mile line that originates in Washington County connects to four fractionators: MarkWest facilities in Houston, Pennsylvania and Cadiz, Ohio, the Blue Racer Natrium plant in West Virginia and the Utica East Ohio Scio facility in Ohio. Shippers on the line report the pipeline outage has shuttered supply out of West Virginia.

Atex pipeline line fill began in late November 2013. Commercial operations started during the first quarter of last year at 65,000 b/d. Volumes are expected to climb to 130,000 b/d or higher by 2018.