OREANDA-NEWS. Sunoco Logistics' Mariner East 2 project, which will expand NGL capacity on the Pennsylvania line to 345,000 b/d, is delayed due to permitting, Sunoco chief executive Mike Hannigan said during an earnings call today.

The pipeline project, which delivers Marcellus and Utica ethane and NGLs from fractionators to the Marcus Hook export terminal near Philadelphia,

is now expected to enter service during the first half of 2017 instead of late 2016, he told analysts on the call. However, ethane loading from the terminal is expected to begin in several days, he added.

The Marcus Hook facility includes about 3mn bl of overall NGL storage capacity and recently finished full refrigeration capability to load ethane and VLGCs.

Once ethane loadings begin, Sunoco expects ethane to account for two-thirds of the NGL volumes shipped from Marcus Hook, with propane as the remaining one-third. Ethane from the terminal is contracted to Ineos, which ordered eight "dragon" class ships designed to carry 27,500m?, or approximately 14,500t, of feedstock for its crackers in Europe.

Sunoco reported a net profit of $25mn for the fourth quarter of 2015, up from a net loss of $125mn during the same quarter in 2014.