HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) (“Enterprise”) today announced three additional expansion projects that will increase the partnership’s capacity to load liquefied petroleum gas (“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 approximately 660,000 barrels per day (“BPD”). Previously, Enterprise announced a project to add 175,000 BPD of LPG loading capacity, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed late third quarter of 2019. The additional projects announced today will increase incremental LPG loading capacity by another 260,000 BPD and are expected to be in service in the third quarter of 2020. When completed, the projects will give EHT nameplate capacity to load up to almost 1.1 million BPD of LPG, or approximately 33 million barrels per month.
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 Enterprise to load up to an incremental 67,200 BPD, or approximately 2 million barrels per month, of fully refrigerated PGP. With this expansion project, Enterprise will increase flexibility by offering customers the capability to co-load fully refrigerated PGP and LPG onto the same vessel. This expansion is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2020.
As part of the expansion, Enterprise is also building an eighth dock at its Houston Ship Channel terminal with the capability to load approximately 840,000 BPD of crude oil, increasing the partnership’s nameplate export capacity for crude oil at the Houston Ship Channel to 2.75 million BPD, or nearly 83 million barrels per month. Expected to begin service in the fourth quarter of 2020, 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, chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner. “In total these expansions will enable us to load an incremental 1.3 million BPD 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 Governor Abbott that ensures two-way traffic along the Houston Ship Channel.”
Enterprise estimates that by 2025 exports of U.S. crude oil will increase from 3 million BPD to 8 million BPD and the domestic LPG export market will double from 1.4 million BPD to 2.8 BPD. Much of this growth is being driven by increasing production from the Permian Basin of Texas. The flexibility of the partnership’s integrated midstream network, combined with unmatched access to supplies, position Enterprise to capitalize on future growth opportunities along the Gulf Coast.
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. Our services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage and import and export terminals; crude oil gathering, transportation, storage and terminals; petrochemical and refined products transportation, storage and terminals; and a marine transportation business that operates primarily on the United States inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems. The partnership’s assets currently include approximately 49,200 miles of pipelines; 260 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, crude oil, petrochemicals and refined products; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity.
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 and its general partner expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, 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 Enterprise’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.
