Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP subsidiary Kinder Morgan Cochin LLC signed a letter of intent with Nova Chemicals Corp. to develop a 210-mile, 10-in. OD NGL pipeline from multiple Utica shale fractionation sites in Harrison County, Ohio, to KMEP’s Cochin Pipeline near Riga, Mich. Cochin would then ship NGL eastward to Windsor, Ont.

The company expects its Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access (Utopia) to transport 50,000 b/d of NGL, including ethane and propane, starting mid-2017. The Utopia system will be expandable to more than 75,000 b/d.

The Cochin Pipeline is a 1,900-mile, 12-in. OD multiproduct pipeline operating between Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., and Windsor. Cochin currently transports propane and ethane-propane mix to petrochemical and fuel markets in Ontario. KMEP says construction continues on the Cochin Reversal project, which will move light condensate from Kankakee County, Ill., westward to existing terminals near Fort Saskatchewan beginning in July 2014 (OGJ Online, June 6, 2013).

Utopia’s development is pending Nova’s execution of a definitive agreement during a binding open season expected to be held next year. Utopia will cost an estimated $300 million.