Marathon's Plan for Utica Shale
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Read the rest of this article here.Recently I wrote an article on why I think this could be the year that the Utica Shale breaks outon the energy scene. I see two reasons to be optimistic: $7 billion of infrastructure projects are coming online and producers are beginning to hit the sweet spot. A reader asked ifMarathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC ) , which is headquartered in the heart of the play, might be a big beneficiary of its growth. With that context, let's break down the company's plans to for the play.Midstream opportunitiesMarathon has packaged a portion of its midstream assets into an MLP and took it public last year. The new company, MPLX (NYSE: MPLX ) is the vehicle that will be driving the most midstream growth. That growth can come from drop-down opportunities from Marathon or it can pursue third-party acquisitions as well as organic growth projects. As far as the Utica goes, right now MLPX is still evaluating its opportunities to grow.Marathon on the other hand has two projects dedicated to the Utica. Last year, it completed a new truck rack capable of unloading 12,000 barrels of oil per day at its Canton Refinery in Ohio. More recently it signed a joint venture to create 24,000 barrels of oil per day in truck unloading capacity and a terminal capable of loading 50,000 barrels of oil per day on barges at its Wellsville, Ohio, terminal. Those projects are key projects for its refining assets.
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