Round Two of “Superload” Arrives at Williams Energy Oak Grove Site
The Charleston Daily Mail reports that a 130-foot, 255 ton de-ethanizer tower was scheduled to arrive at the Williams Energy Oak Grove site in Marshall County on Monday or Tuesday. The tower is the second of three “Superload” installments being delivered to the Williams Energy site and indicates the growing impact of Marcellus and Utica Shale development on West Virginia. According to The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register, the de-ethanizer strips ethane from the natural gas stream prior to pipeline transport. In its processed form, ethane is a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) and can be used to make plastics and medical and chemical products. The de-ethanizer is the first at the Oak Grove site and the third in Marshall County. The stripped ethane will likely be shipped via pipeline to the Gulf Coast or to Canada. That may change, however, if the proposed Cracker Plants in Beaver County, Pennsylvania and Wood County, West Virginia are completed.