HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) today announced that the partnership plans to construct two more natural gas liquid (“NGL”) fractionators at its Mont Belvieu, Texas complex that would provide 150,000 barrels per day (“BPD”) of incremental fractionation capacity. Projected to begin service in the fourth quarter of 2013, the two 75,000 BPD units, together, along with a sixth unit currently under construction and on schedule to commence service in the fourth quarter of 2012, would give Enterprise the capacity to fractionate more than 610,000 BPD at the Mont Belvieu facility. The process of obtaining the necessary permits for fractionators seven and eight is already under way. The fractionators would facilitate the continued growth of NGL production from various Rocky Mountain producing basins and the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas.
“With the continuing expansion of our Eagle Ford system and the recently announced Texas Express Pipeline project providing enhanced reliability and optionality, Mont Belvieu represents the centerpiece of our integrated NGL network and is the premier North American delivery point for liquids production from the nation’s most prolific shale regions,” said A.J. “Jim” Teague, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Enterprise’s general partner. “When service on the new fractionators begins, Enterprise will have more than doubled its fractionation capacity at Mont Belvieu in less than three years. In addition to helping ensure the highest netback revenue to the wellhead for producers, the additional fractionation capacity will help meet the Gulf Coast petrochemical industry’s appetite for ethane, which is at an all-time high, and is projected to increase as new construction projects, conversions and expansions are completed.”
In the Eagle Ford Shale, Enterprise is nearing completion of several key infrastructure projects and announcing new expansion initiatives for delivering the NGLs that will underpin the increased fractionation capacity at Mont Belvieu. Specifically, the partnership has entered into a long-term commitment with Anadarko Energy Services that will support construction of a 173-mile extension of Enterprise’s recently completed Eagle Ford NGL pipeline that links the partnership’s Yoakum natural gas processing facility in Lavaca County, Texas to Mont Belvieu. This extension will originate near Yoakum and extend to Western Gas Partners, LP’s natural gas processing facility in LaSalle County, Texas. Through a connection with Enterprise’s existing NGL pipeline network near Falls City, Texas, the partnership’s seven other integrated South Texas processing facilities will have access to markets served by Mont Belvieu. Consisting of 16-inch diameter pipeline, the extension will have a capacity of 140,000 BPD and is expected to begin service in the second quarter of 2013.
Teague added, “Our integrated network of existing assets continues to provide us with tremendous opportunities to expand our system and provide enhanced flexibility for our customers. In the process, we have improved our ability to complete these projects timely, efficiently and safely.”
As previously announced, Enterprise is constructing its Eagle Ford rich natural gas mainline system and associated laterals. To date, Enterprise has completed construction of approximately 375 miles of natural gas pipeline, ranging from 16 inches to 36 inches in diameter. When the remaining 66-mile segment is completed, Enterprise’s Eagle Ford Mainline system will be able to deliver 900 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of rich natural gas to the partnership’s Yoakum cryogenic natural gas processing facility. The first 300 MMcf/d train of the Yoakum processing facility is expected to begin commercial operations in May 2012. The second train is scheduled to begin service in July 2012, followed by the third train in the first quarter of 2013. The Yoakum plant will then have the capability of processing up to 900 MMcf/d of natural gas and produce up to an estimated 111,000 BPD of NGLs. Including Enterprise’s seven other integrated South Texas processing facilities, the partnership will be able to offer approximately 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of processing capacity for the region when Yoakum is fully operational.
Construction of the NGL pipeline that links Yoakum to Mont Belvieu has also been completed. As planned, the 20/24-inch diameter pipeline system would ultimately have the capacity to transport 450,000 BPD of mixed NGLs.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. The partnership’s assets include approximately: 50,600 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines; 190 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, petrochemicals, refined products and crude oil; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. Services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage, and import and export terminaling; offshore production platform services; crude oil and refined products transportation, storage and terminaling; petrochemical transportation and storage; and a marine transportation business that operates primarily on the United States inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems and in the Gulf of Mexico. For additional information, visit www.enterpriseproducts.com.
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein that address activities, events, developments or transactions that Enterprise expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including anticipated benefits and other aspects of such activities, events, developments or transactions, are forward-looking statements. Although Enterprise believes that the forward-looking statements included herein are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including required approvals by regulatory agencies, the possibility that the anticipated benefits from such activities, events, developments or transactions cannot be fully realized, the possibility that costs or difficulties related thereto will be greater than expected, the impact of competition and other risks and uncertainties included in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Enterprise. While Enterprise makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those expected. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Except as required by law, Enterprise does not intend to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.