OREANDA-NEWS. Oneok Partners is currently rejecting 175,000 b/d of ethane on its system, company president Terry Spencer told attendees at an MLP Investor conference in Orlando, Florida yesterday.

Once ethane export terminals and new petrochemical plants ramp up demand for the feedstock, the Tulsa-based partnership estimates it could see an additional $200mn annually in earnings from the increased flows on its system.

Oneok estimates an additional 140,000 b/d of ethane could be recovered from the midcontinent, 35,000 b/d from the Williston basin, and 10,000 b/d from the Permian basin.

Spot ethane prices at Mont Belvieu, Texas, stood at a nearly 6? premium to its fuel value yesterday, but for much of the past year it traded nearly at parity with its value in the natural gas stream, resulting in widespread rejection by gas processors.

This year ethane exports began from Sunoco's Marcus Hook terminal near Philadelphia, bringing Marcellus ethane to petrochemical buyers in Europe. Enterprise Products Partners' new ethane export terminal is expected to come online later this year.

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