There’s no better time than the present, with the region in a deep freeze, to appreciate propane, the natural gas liquid used as a source of heat.

With Mariner East 2 now in service alongside Mariner East 1, this pipeline system of Energy Transfer’s is transporting propane and other NGLs from the Utica Shale and Marcellus Shale formations in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex in Delaware County. (Mariner East 1 carries ethane and propane, while Mariner East 2 carries propane and butane.)

This facility on the banks of the Delaware River is a key cog in the storing, processing, and local distribution of propane, which is not only used as fuel for heat and cooking, but also as an energy source for water heaters, laundry dryers, barbecues, and motor vehicles.

The propane trucks, nearly 200 per day, are departing from the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex to make their local deliveries to domestic markets.

Gov. Tom Wolf recently took to the radio in Pittsburgh to tout pipelines and their benefits to Pennsylvanians.

“If we’re going to have a healthy gas industry, we need a pipeline network,” he said on KDKA Radio Morning News. “We need it here in Pennsylvania; otherwise, we’re just going to be exporting this natural resource to Gulf states and Pennsylvanians are not going to benefit to the extent that they should.

“I want to do what I can to help this industry succeed in the right way, environmentally, and in an environmentally sound way. Economically, it benefits Pennsylvania.”

The Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association just issued a report that suggests the state needs to further develop its network of pipelines in order to facilitate what could potentially be an increase of $1 billion in manufacturing activity in the next decade.

“We constantly hear from both gas producers and end users that Pennsylvania lacks pipeline capacity, and it’s a hindrance to business development,” said Carl Marrara, vice president of government affairs at PMA.

According to the Pennsylvania Business Report, modern manufacturing relies heavily on natural gas liquids as fuel, but also as a feedstock for every plastic, foam, rubber, coating, solvent, glaze, and more.

“By connecting end users with the glut of natural gas Pennsylvania producers have to offer, everyone wins,” he said.

During its construction period, Mariner East 2 injected millions of dollars into the state’s economy.

“Now that it’s in service, delivering energy resources to consumers, Pennsylvanians will feel the economic jolt of a revived energy and manufacturing sector and will benefit from more affordable energy costs across the board,” Martin Williams, a Business Manager of Boilermakers Local 13, wrote in a recent editorial to the Daily Times.

The Mariner East 2 is 350 miles in length and cost around $2.5 billion to construct. It represents the largest private investment in the state’s history.

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