Just yesterday MDN told you that Mountaineer NGL Storage wants to be THE main ethane/NGL storage hub for the Marcellus/Utica region (see Mountaineer NGL Wants to be THE Appalachian Storage Hub). There has long been talk of a major, $10 billion regional NGL storage hub. But until know it’s been just that–talk. A major hub is now much more of a possibility. Last June West Virginia’s U.S. Senators, Shelley Moore Capito (Republican) and Joe Manchin (Democrat), introduced Senate Bill 1337–the “Capitalizing American Storage Potential (CASP) Act”–a bill that would make a regional ethane storage hub (hopefully built in WV) eligible for the Department of Energy’s Title XVII loan guarantee program (see WV Sens. Capito & Manchin Introduce 2 More Ethane Storage Hub Bills). The bill didn’t go anywhere, but the intention of the bill certainly did. Yesterday it was announced that the DOE has invited those promoting the regional ethane storage hub to submit “Part II” of the application for a Title XVII loan guarantee of $1.9 billion. There’s a lot to unpack in the announcement below. First, the regional storage hub has an official name: The Appalachia Storage & Trading Hub (first time we’d read of it). Second, the project has an official backer: the Appalachia Development Group, LLC (or “ADG”). Third, ADG previously filed Part I of the application with the DOE, back in September. Fourth, since the DOE has invited ADG to supply Part II of the application, that implies Part I from September was/is approved. Fifth, $1.9 billion is far short of the eventual cost bandied about of $10 billion–but it can certainly get this project off the ground and running. And sixth, this is NOT a loan from the government, it is a guarantee. Someone else would make the loan, but the full faith and credit of the United States would back it up, in case of default. A Title XVII loan guarantee makes it much easier to find a loan…
