HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) today announced the start-up of the first train at the partnership’s new cryogenic natural gas processing plant at Yoakum, Texas. This facility has a design capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day (“MMcf/day) and can extract approximately 37,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids (“NGLs”). During the start-up period, the plant will process existing Eagle Ford production in a reduced recovery mode to enable testing of the plant and supporting facilities and make adjustments to plant operations. Incoming natural gas volumes and recovery percentages at the facility will continue to increase throughout the month of May, with full production from the plant expected by June 1, 2012. Prior to the start-up of the Yoakum plant, Enterprise had been utilizing capacity at natural gas processing plants owned by third parties. Most of these volumes will now be diverted and processed at the Yoakum facility.
“The coordination, hard work and dedication exhibited by our employees in Houston and in the field has been tremendous and allowed us to complete this first train on schedule and under budget,” said A.J. “Jim” Teague, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Enterprise’s general partner. “The long-term outlook in the Eagle Ford Shale continues to show growth in rich gas production and Enterprise is well-positioned to help meet the need for midstream infrastructure through the cost-effective expansion of our integrated network.”
A 65-mile, 36-inch diameter residue natural gas pipeline linking the Yoakum plant to Enterprise’s Wilson natural gas storage facility was completed in April 2012. Additionally, the partnership has also completed construction of 169 miles of 20-inch and 24-inch diameter pipeline for delivering mixed NGLs extracted at Yoakum to Enterprise’s fractionation and storage complex at Mont Belvieu, Texas.
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. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, 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 risk factors included in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Enterprise. 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.