Ethylene flow rates on the Evangeline Pipeline are likely to improve in the coming week, trade sources said Wednesday.
Flows on the pipeline, which moves ethylene from Texas into Louisiana, restarted May 8, sources said, after it had been shut for repairs since August 2013.
"Ethylene has been coming into the Choctaw well [in Louisiana] since" the evening of May 8, a large buyer source said, adding: "We were told it is running at reduced rates because its water is at 2 (parts per million), in lieu of the specified 1 ppm, so it needs to be dried at the well a bit longer. We were told that it will resume full rates within a week."
Two sources within the trading community also said the reduced rates were due to higher water content.
Sources estimated the capacity of the Choctaw trading hub near 250 million lb. One trader source estimated the daily transfer rate of the line at 1 million-3 million lb/day.
Chevron Pipe Line, the line's owner, was not immediately available to provide an update on the line's status Wednesday.
The startup has been delayed several times, according to sources, with initial talk of a December 2013 startup being moved back to March/April 2014 and finally mid-May.
Spot ethylene prices hit a 15-month low October 8, 2013 to be assessed by Platts at 43.25 cents/lb FD USG as a result of a glut of product at the 395 million lb Mont Belvieu, Texas, trading hub.
