The open season commenced on August 9 and will close on September 10.Subject to receipt of sufficient customer interest in the non-binding open season, MEPS plans to pursue with interested parties negotiation of terms to be contained in transportation agreements and, thereafter, conduct a binding open season in October 2010.
The proposed MEPS would be designed to transport up to 60,000 barrels per day of ethane from points of origin at the fractionation plants in the ethane-rich Marcellus Shale production region to destination interconnect points with third-party ethane pipelines and storage facilities in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area.
MEPS would be comprised of a combination of new pipeline and existing pipeline segments expected to be acquired from Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and converted to ethane service.
The project has a targeted in-service date of April 1, 2013.
