Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has started operating the remaining 162-mile segment of its Aegis ethane pipeline in Louisiana.
The 270-mile Aegis system originates at Mont Belvieu, Texas, the terminus for more than 3 million barrels per day of natural gas liquids (NGL) supply pipeline capacity, and is connected to more than 2 million barrels per day of industry fractionation capacity.
Together with the company’s existing South Texas pipeline network, Aegis is part of an ethane header system that is capable of serving more than 20 petrochemical facilities along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.
“We are pleased to complete this final phase of the Aegis ethane pipeline,” commented A.J. “Jim” Teague, chief operating officer of Enterprise’s general partner. “The Aegis system provides price-advantaged ethane feedstock and supply flexibility for the expanding network of petrochemical facilities along a 500-mile corridor between Corpus Christi, Texas and the Mississippi River. These facilities are expected to represent more than 90 percent of domestic ethylene capacity within the next five years.”
Enterprise also announced last week that it has completed the final phase of expansion at its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, increasing the loading rate from 16,500 barrels per hour to approximately 27,500 barrels per hour.
This was achieved through the addition of a new refrigeration train that increases loading capabilities at the terminal from 9 million barrels per month of LPG to 16 million barrels per month, which equates to approximately 29 vessels per month.
“In addition to meeting the growing international demand for price-advantaged, domestic LPG, the terminal also benefits producers by providing market access and facilitating continued development of U.S. energy supplies,” Teague explained.
