Needs and Considerations for the Natural Gas Infrastructure in the Marcellus and Utica Shale Regions

The natural gas processing infrastructure already built by some midstream companies in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions to date has cost about $10 billion. This infrastructure is already inadequate to meet supply even without figuring in the forecasts of the output likely from these regions. Midstream companies such as Blue Racer plan to double their processing capacity over the next 10 years so that they will be able to meet the demand. Already this demand is high enough that some wells in the Utica shale region are not in production because current pipeline infrastructure is insufficient. Some estimate that at least another $30 billion will need to be spent on infrastructure development to meet the supply. This is because the gas produced in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region contains natural gas liquids with the dry methane. The gas requires processing and fractionation in order for individual marketing of the products. Stripping the ethane, propane and other liquids from th
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