HOUSTON — Unity Pipeline Company, a joint venture among Harvest Pipeline Company, Somerset Gas Transmission Company, and Crossroads Pipeline Company, part of NiSource’s Columbia Pipeline Group, is proposing to build a new diluent pipeline approximately 380 miles long from the Kensington, Ohio, plant.

The pipeline will carry condensate and natural gasoline to serve markets in Canada.

About the project

Using new and existing infrastructure, the Unity Pipeline Project will connect a new source of diluent supply from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to western Canada.

If there is sufficient producer interest, the projected pipeline will consist of a new 12-inch pipeline from Kensington, Ohio, to connect to Somerset’s existing North Coast Pipeline originating at Mantua, Ohio.

The pipeline will further connect to the Crossroads Pipeline at Cygnet, Ohio, and ultimately will terminate in Griffith, Ind., at an interconnection with Explorer Pipeline.

The North Coast and Crossroads pipeline systems, which currently transport natural gas flowing west to east, will be reversed and converted from natural gas transportation service to diluent transportation service.

In addition to the diluent mainline, a new gathering system will also be constructed to gather diluent products from the Marcellus and Utica regions. This system will deliver light condensate and natural gasoline to an interconnection with Unity Pipeline in Kensington, Ohio.

The initial capacity will be 60,000 barrels per day, expandable to more than 100,000 barrels per day. The estimated in-service date for the Unity Pipeline is mid-2015.

The players

As units of NiSource Inc., the Crossroads Pipeline Company companies include Columbia Gas Transmission, Columbia Gulf Transmission, Crossroads Pipeline, Central Kentucky Transmission and Hardy Storage.

Harvest Pipeline Company is an affiliate of Hilcorp Energy Company that owns and operates midstream assets. Hilcorp, founded in 1989, is one of the largest privately-held independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States.

Somerset Gas Transmission Company is a privately-held enterprise engaged in the development and operation of natural gas pipelines serving wholesale markets in the U.S.

Somerset‘s primary operating asset is its wholly owned affiliate, North Coast Gas Transmission. North Coast is an Ohio intrastate pipeline serving local distribution companies and end-users in northern Ohio and operated under the authority of the Public Utility Commission of Ohio.