Wednesday, December 24, 2014

SUNOCO "MISTAKENLY" PLACES PIPELINE ON PENN TOWNSHIP LAND

Penn Township-Sunoco pipeline battle could go to court



Penn Township has initiated a legal battle to force Sunoco Logistics to remove a small portion of a 300-mile pipeline that was erroneously installed in the municipality.
The writ was filed Tuesday morning, hours before township and company officials held a brief negotiating session seeking to resolve the dispute. 

Township Solicitor Les Mlakar said no deal was reached during the hour-long meeting.
“We asked them to provide a certified survey of the pipeline and their construction costs if they have to move the line. And we want to independently verify those,” Mlakar said.
Township officials want to review that information by mid-January, Mlakar said. 

Tuesday's court filing was a preliminary move to preserve the township's ability to ask a judge to force Sunoco to dig up and remove the pipeline that was installed on township property. 

Township officials learned earlier this month that a 70-foot section of the $600-million pipeline project — known as Mariner East I — encroached on township property even though it was supposed to be rerouted around the 12-acre parcel. 

Sunoco has acknowledged that a mistake was made when the pipeline segment was built on township land, according to company spokesman Jeff Shields. 

In a statement, company officials said they want to negotiate a resolution.
Shields said Tuesday the company will make no additional statements at this time.
“We'll defer to the township,” he said. 

The dispute involves only a small piece of the 50-mile Western Pennsylvania segment of the pipeline, which will carry propane and other liquid natural gas through Washington, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. 

That 50-mile piece will link with the pipeline that runs through the state and ends just south of Philadelphia. 

Attempts last year by Sunoco to acquire easements to build the pipeline through Penn Township's property failed. Commissioners rejected a request for an easement in May 2013. 

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Sunoco mistakenly puts part of pipeline on Penn Township land

Penn Township officials are threatening litigation against Sunoco Logistics because the company installed a tiny section of a major pipeline on township property without their permission. 


Township Solicitor Les Mlakar said he might go so far as to request a court order for the removal of the pipeline from the Claridge property after a company representative revealed the mistake to township manager Alex Graziani earlier this month. 


Commissioners authorized Mlakar last week to take legal action, but nothing had been filed in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court as of Tuesday afternoon.

“At this point, I'm taking the position: We don't want them there, we didn't allow them to be there, then they ought to get it out, have it removed,” Mlakar said. 


Sunoco spokesman Jeffrey Shields confirmed that a postconstruction survey found that a 70-foot section of the 50-mile, $600-million pipeline project — known as Mariner East I — “inadvertently encroached” on township property. 


Sunoco has used eminent domain to acquire some easements along the pipeline.

“This mistake should not have happened, and Sunoco Logistics hopes to continue the dialogue with the township to establish a fair resolution to this matter,” Shields said in a statement. 


Sunoco sought the commissioners' approval in May 2013 for a small easement on 12.77 acres but didn't get it. 


The company offered $1,550 for a 39-foot-by-50-foot permanent right of way on open land by Gombach Road and Flour Bag Fort Lane. 


After declining Sunoco's offer, township officials said, they were under the impression that Sunoco routed the pipeline around the property. 


If not for the company's interest in a $2.5-billion second phase, which would involve another pipeline in the same right of way, township officials likely wouldn't have known about the encroachment, Graziani said. 


He said his jaw dropped when the Sunoco representative told him about the error during a Dec. 3 meeting about the Mariner East projects. 


“They made it very clear that they understand this was a big mistake,” Graziani said. 


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NGL Projects
Project Mariner East Phase I
Project Mariner East Phase I

Project Mariner East is pipeline project to deliver propane and ethane from the liquid-rich Marcellus Shale areas in Western Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook facility, where it will be processed, stored, and distributed to various domestic and waterborne markets. The project is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport approximately 70,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. Mariner East is expected to have the ability to transport propane by the 4th quarter of 2014. Mariner East is scheduled to be fully operational to deliver propane and ethane in Mid-2015.


Sunoco Logistics will construct a pipeline from MarkWest Energy Partners L.P.'s Houston, Pennsylvania processing and fractionation complex to an interconnection with an existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline at Delmont, Pennsylvania. The natural gas liquids will then be transported to the Marcus Hook facility where Sunoco Logistics will construct new facilities to process, store, chill, and distribute propane and ethane to local, regional and international markets.


Project Mariner East Phase II

Sunoco Logistics announced a successful Open Season for Mariner East 2 project in November 2014.  For Mariner East 2, Sunoco Logistics plans to construct a pipeline from processing and fractionation complexes in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Eastern Ohio for transport to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex.  Sunoco Logistics plans to construct new facilities at Marcus Hook Industrial Complex to store, chill, process and distribute propane, butane and ethane for distribution to local, domestic and international markets.  Sunoco Logistics plans to offer intrastate and interstate movements to meet the demands of various markets.  Mariner East 2 is anticipated to provide an initial capacity of 275,000 barrels per day of NGL's.  The Mariner East 2 pipeline is expected to be operational in Q4 2016, subject to regulatory and permit approvals.


Project Mariner West
Project Mariner West


Project Mariner West is a pipeline project to deliver ethane from the liquid-rich Marcellus Shale processing and fractionation areas in Western Pennsylvania to the Sarnia, Ontario petrochemical market. The project is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport up to 50,000 barrels per day of ethane and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. Mariner West commenced operations in Q4 2013.



Project Mariner South


Mariner South Pipeline is a pipeline project to transport export grade propane and butane from Lone Star’s storage and fractionation complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas to Sunoco Logistics’ terminal in Nederland, Texas. In addition to export grade propane and butane, the pipeline will be available for other natural gas liquids and petroleum products depending on shipper interest. The pipeline is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport approximately 200,000 barrels per day and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. The pipeline is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2015.
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Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. announced Thursday that it will build an enormous, $2.5 billion pipeline project that will quadruple the volume of Marcellus Shale natural gas liquids moving through the Philadelphia area.

The Mariner East 2 project, the second phase of a plan to move materials like propane, butane, and ethane from Appalachian shale-gas fields, would dramatically expand industrial activity at the company's Marcus Hook Industrial Complex.

Sunoco Logistics said it would build a pipeline at least 16 inches in diameter to follow the route of its first Mariner East project, an 83-year-old fuel pipeline crossing Pennsylvania that the company is repurposing to carry liquids to Marcus Hook.

Industry and political leaders have rallied behind the Mariner East projects as a way to closely tie Philadelphia to the Marcellus Shale region, which now accounts for nearly a quarter of the nation's natural gas production.