Enterprise Increases Infrastructure, Capacity

Enterprise Products Partners LP (Houston) has launched additional expansion projects, some of which will increase the company’s capacity to load LPG, polymer-grade propylene (PGP), and crude oil from its Enterprise Hydrocarbon Terminal (EHT) on the Houston Ship Channel.

Currently, Enterprise’s nameplate LPG loading capacity is about 660,000 bbld. Previously, the partnership outlined an initiative to add 175,000 bbld of capacity, which is under construction and expected to be completed late in the third quarter of this year. New Ship Channel projects will increase incremental LPG loading by another 260,000 bbld and are expected to be in service in the third quarter of 2020. When completed, the projects will elevate EHT nameplate LPG loading capability to nearly 1.1 MMbbld, or about 33 MMbbl a month.

Further, in response to record demand for PGP by international markets, the partnership is adding refrigeration facilities at its Houston Ship Channel terminal that will enable it to load up to an incremental 67,200 bbld, or about 2 MMbbl a month, of fully refrigerated product. With this expansion, Enterprise will increase flexibility by offering customers the capability to co-load fully refrigerated PGP and LPG onto the same vessel. The expanded capacity is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Enterprise is also constructing an eighth dock at its Houston terminal with the ability to load about 840,000 bbld of crude oil, increasing the partnership’s nameplate export capacity for crude at the facility to 2.75 MMbbld, or nearly 83 MMbbl a month. Expected to commence service in the fourth quarter next year, the new dock will be able to accommodate a Suezmax vessel, the largest ship class that can navigate the Houston Ship Channel.

“We are pleased to announce this additional investment in our Houston Ship Channel marine terminals,” said A.J. (Jim) Teague, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. “In total, these expansions will enable us to load an incremental 1.3 MMbbld of LPG, polymer-grade propylene, and crude oil. Our integrated midstream system, including our Houston Ship Channel terminal, is providing Texas products with access to the highest value markets, including international markets. These projects utilize the latest technology to modify and expand existing facilities and represent a very efficient use of capital with attractive returns. A key driver and catalyst to make these additional investments in our Houston Ship Channel complex is clarity and certainty provided by recent legislation signed into law by Gov. Abbott that assures two-way traffic along the Houston Ship Channel.”

Enterprise estimates that by 2025 exports of U.S. crude oil will increase from 3 MMbbld to 8 MMbbld and the domestic LPG export market will double from 1.4 MMbbld to 2.8 MMbbld. Much of this growth is being driven by increasing production from the Permian Basin in Texas. The flexibility of the partnership’s integrated network, combined with access to supply, positions Enterprise to capitalize on future growth opportunities along the Gulf Coast.

Separately, Enterprise reports operation of the third train at its Orla cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Reeves County, Texas has begun. The completion of the latest processing unit at Orla boosts natural gas processing capacity at the facility to 900 MMcfd and allows Enterprise to produce in excess of 140,000 bbld of natural gas liquids. Throughout the Permian Basin, Enterprise now has the capability to process 1.3 Bcfd of natural gas and produce about 200,000 bbld of NGLs.

“The three trains at Orla that have been brought online over the past year reflect Enterprise’s agility and commitment to providing timely and efficient solutions for facilitating production growth in the prolific Permian Basin,” Teague said. “And we are not through yet expanding our processing capabilities in the Permian. The Mentone cryogenic natural gas processing facility in Loving County, Texas, which will have the capacity to process 300 MMcfd of natural gas and extract in excess of 40,000 bbld of NGLs, is on schedule for completion in the first quarter of 2020, and we are actively negotiating contracts with customers to underwrite additional capacity.”

Orla and Mentone extend Enterprise’s value chain in the Permian and Delaware basins, linking customers to the company’s integrated pipeline network, including the recently completed Shin Oak pipeline and the Texas Intrastate natural gas system. In addition, the partnership’s Mont Belvieu complex, where 300,000 bbld of fractionation capacity is under construction and expected to be available in 2020, as well as its extensive system of Gulf Coast export docks, provide access to attractive domestic and international markets.

(SOURCE: The

, July 23, 2019)