Sunoco Logistics Partners LP announced a successful open season for Sunoco Pipeline LP’s Mariner East 2 project. The project is the second phase of the Sunoco Logistics’ broader plan to expand pipeline transportation from the Marcellus and Utica shales. Mariner East 2 will expand the Mariner East service to deliver NGL from the liquid-rich shale areas in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and eastern Ohio to Sunoco Logistics’ Marcus Hook industrial complex on the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. At Marcus Hook, NGL will be stored and distributed to various local, domestic and international markets. Due to receipt of sufficient binding commitments from shippers, the project will move forward.

Sunoco Logistics plans to invest about $2.5 billion for Mariner East 2. The project is expected to have an initial capacity of 275,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of NGL. Combined with Mariner East 1’s capacity of 70,000 bbl/d, the Mariner East project will provide 345,000 barrels per day of total NGL takeaway capacity from the regions it serves. Mariner East 1 is expected to begin propane service by the end of 2014. Mariner East 2 is expected to be operational by the end of 2016, subject to regulatory and permit approvals. In total, Sunoco Logistics will invest about $3 billion for the Mariner East projects.