Marathon Petroleum Corporation

Increasing production of naphtha range material such as condensates and natural gasoline in the southeastern Ohio section of the Utica shale will soon exceed the capacity of local refineries to process such light hydrocarbons. Midstream logistics companies like MPLX are developing infrastructure to transport condensate, natural gasoline and the more limited supplies of crude produced in the Utica to refineries further afield. There is also demand for condensate and natural gasoline to be used as diluent to reduce the viscosity of Western Canadian heavy crude bitumen. Today we describe MPLX and its sponsor Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) recently announced long term takeaway transportation plans.

Finding a home for growing condensate range material being produced in the Ohio Utica shale play involves local refinery deliveries as well as new transport routes to markets outside the region as far away as Canada. Midstream companies are busy developing infrastructure plans to gather both wellhead condensate and output from natural gas processing plants in the region. Today we detail MPLX and its sponsor Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) recently announced Utica shale plans.