Enterprise mulls ethane terminal expansion; 85% of capacity committed

LONDON (ICIS)–US-based Enterprise Products Partners said on Thursday it has executed an additional long-term contract to provide ethane storage, transportation, refrigeration and loading services from its new ethane export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, Texas.

According to Enterprise, with this agreement the ethane terminal, which is still under construction, now has long-term commitments for approximately 85% of its capacity.

The terminal is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2016, said Enterprise. It is located at the company’s Morgan’s Point facility on the Houston Ship Channel and will be able to load fully refrigerated ethane at a rate of about 10,000 bbl/hour.

The new terminal will be supplied with ethane by an 18-mile long and 24in wide pipeline to be constructed from Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu site, also in Texas.

“As a result of this agreement, we have commenced evaluation of expansion options at the new ethane terminal. The seamless integration of the new terminal with our existing natural gas liquids complex at Mont Belvieu [Texas] and beyond will help ensure market access for the growing surplus of domestic ethane and facilitate continued development of the nation’s abundant energy reserves,” said A.J. Teague, chief operating officer at Enterprise.

Earlier in the day, Enterprise announced its Q2 results showing an increase in net income of 17% on the back of higher volumes.