“The recent announcement in the Shale Directories newsletter is really good news for the Ohio Valley,” stated Bryce Custer. MPLX announced it is moving forward with its underground storage facility in Hopedale, Ohio and it could be operation by 2021. Millions of dollars will be spent building out this facility.
When this development is combined with the PTTGC cracker plant announcement, the demand for real estate will rise significantly in a very short period. Custer commented, “I strongly encourage any company thinking about investing in the Ohio Valley that now is the time to move. Waiting six months may be too late.”
Shale Directories Announcement
Things are happening fast in the race to build the Appalachian Storage Hub. Just this week MPLX, disclosed more details on their plans. MPLX is the third company to outline their intent, behind Mountaineer – Energy Storage Ventures and Appalachian Development Group. Yet they may be the first in service with an anticipated date of 2021! Capacity of their Hopedale NGL Caverns facility will be more than 5 million barrels.
Key highlights include:
- Design for storage of ethane, propane and butanes in individual salt caverns
- Buildout of the existing Hopedale, Ohio NGL fractionation site
- Connectivity to all the major NGL pipelines: Utopia, ATEX, TEPPCO, Mariner East 2, Falcon and Cornerstone pipelines
- Pipelines that could someday deliver stored Hopedale liquids to Sarnia, Ontario, Marcus Hook, PA and south to the Gulf Coast.
The MPLX Hopedale NGL Caverns could become the Appalachian Storage Hub which would give a much needed buffer for Exploration and Production companies, Downstream Cracker plants and export facilities in case of the inevitable system upsets. Reducing risk and improving returns for Marcellus and Utica operations.