HOUSTON, US: Enterprise Products Partners plans to construct a sixth natural gas liquids fractionator at its Mont Belvieu, Texas facility that will increase capacity there by 75,000 barrels per day (BPD). The new fractionation facility will accommodate continued growth of liquids-rich natural gas production from the prolific Eagle Ford Shale basin in South Texas. In anticipation of the expansion, Enterprise has already obtained the necessary approvals and permits that will allow the partnership to promptly begin construction of the new facility, which is projected to begin service in early 2013. At that time, Enterprise will have the capability to fractionate more than 450,000 BPD of NGLs at its Mont Belvieu complex. System-wide the partnership’s net fractionation capacity will increase to more than 780,000 BPD.
“The announcement of our third fractionator at Mont Belvieu in less than two years is yet another indication of the robust demand for Enterprise’s midstream services to handle increased natural gas production from the expanding shale plays,” said A J “Jim” Teague, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, General Partner, Enterprise.
About the growing demand, Teague said, “From a demand perspective and significant differential between natural gas and crude oil prices continues to favour NGLs over heavier crude oil derivatives as feedstocks for the petrochemical industry. Petrochemical facilities have responded with announcements of planned new construction or modifications to make greater use of NGL feedstocks. In the last 12 months alone, approximately 100,000 BPD to 150,000 BPD of heavy cracker feedstocks have been replaced with light-end feedstocks.”
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