Pennsylvania regulators ordered Energy Transfer Partners LP to suspend operations on its Mariner East 1 NGL pipeline after receiving reports of sinkholes along the route of the line.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in a March 7 order required ETP unit Sunoco Pipeline LP to inspect segments of Mariner East, particularly the portion that runs from at least 1 mile upstream from Lisa Drive, West Whiteland Township in Chester County, Pa., to at least 1 mile downstream from the same point. Three sinkholes were found in the area of the pipeline along Lisa Drive, as well as near the area where construction and horizontal directional drilling operations were being done for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project.
The PUC ordered ETP to within 24 hours run at least one in line inspection tool through the 8-inch diameter conduit that moves propane, butane and ethane across the state in the Lisa Drive area. Within 12 hours of completing the inspection, the company must suspend transportation service on Mariner East, which has capacity of about 70,000 barrels per day.
The suspension is estimated to last 10 to 14 days to give Sunoco time to carry out geophysical testing and analyses, report its findings to the PUC's pipeline safety staff and discuss the findings with the staff. The suspension will remain in place until Sunoco completes the inspections, taken corrective action and receives approval from the PUC to resume operations.
Mariner East 1 carries NGLs to Sunoco's Marcus Hook Industrial Complex from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. Its second phase, Mariner East 2, would expand the pipeline system's capacity initially by 275,000 bbl/d, with upside of up to 450,000 bbl/d. In its most recent investor presentation, ETP said it expects the second phase to go into service in the second quarter.
