Kinder Morgan Inc. said it has agreed to sell half its stake in an Ohio pipeline project to private equity firm Riverstone Investment Group LLC. Riverstone will make an upfront cash payment to Kinder Morgan, including reimbursement for 50 percent share of its previous capital expenditure on the USD $500 million project, the pipeline company recently stated.
The Utopia Pipeline is a common carrier project that will include approximately 215 miles of new, 12-inch diameter pipeline constructed entirely within the state of Ohio from Harrison County to Fulton County. The pipeline will connect with an existing Kinder Morgan pipeline and associated facilities in order to transport ethane and ethane-propane mixtures to petrochemical companies operating in Ontario, Canada, for use as a feedstock in the production of plastics that will ultimately be made into automotive parts, bottles, containers, home furnishings and other common plastic products. These products will be distributed to manufacturers, businesses and homes throughout the Great Lakes region.