HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) today announced that its subsidiary, Kinder Morgan Cochin LLC has signed a letter of intent with NOVA Chemicals Corporation (NOVA) to develop a new products pipeline from the Utica Shale. Under the agreement, Kinder Morgan Cochin will develop, construct, own and operate a 210-mile, 10-inch diameter pipeline from multiple fractionation facilities in Harrison County, Ohio, to Kinder Morgan’s Cochin Pipeline near Riga, Mich., where the company will then move product via Cochin east to Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
The proposed approximately $300 million Kinder Morgan Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access (UTOPIA) would transport previously refined or fractionated natural gas liquids (NGLs), including ethane and propane. The pipeline is expected to have an initial 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity, which is expandable to more than 75,000 bpd. A mid-year 2017 in-service date is anticipated, pending NOVA’s execution of a definitive agreement during the binding open season process (which is expected in 2014) and timely receipt of necessary permitting and regulatory approvals.
“We are excited to have this opportunity to continue to provide a pipeline transportation solution for the growing Ontario market,” said Don Lindley, president of Natural Gas Liquids Business Development. “This proposal will complement our existing transportation solutions for NGLs produced in the Utica, allowing producers to choose between mixed NGLs to the Gulf Coast or previously fractionated NGLs to nearby demand centers.” The project is expected to be immediately accretive to cash available to KMP unitholders upon completion.
The Cochin Pipeline is a multi-product pipeline consisting of approximately 1,900 miles of 12-inch pipeline operating between Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Windsor, Ontario. Cochin currently transports propane and ethane-propane mix to petrochemical and fuel markets in Ontario. Construction continues on the Cochin Reversal project, which will move light condensate from Kankakee County, Ill., (west of Riga) to existing terminal facilities near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, beginning in July 2014.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) is a leading pipeline transportation and energy storage company and one of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America. It owns an interest in or operates more than 54,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI). Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and the fourth largest energy company in North America with a combined enterprise value of approximately $105 billion. It owns an interest in or operates more than 82,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle such products as ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. KMI owns the general partner interests of KMP and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB), along with limited partner interests in KMP and EPB and shares in Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR). For more information please visit www.kindermorgan.com.
