Enterprise: Demand high for propane dehydrogenation facility

Enterprise Products Partners says it has sold out its 1.65-billion-pounds-per-year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility, scheduled to begin operations in third-quarter 2015, with long-term, fee-based agreements. In anticipation of a continuing decrease in supplies of propylene, Enterprise is having ongoing discussions with additional customers that could lead to the development of additional PDH capacity, the company adds.

In June 2012, Enterprise announced that it was proceeding with its plans to build a PDH facility that would consume up to 35,000 barrels per day of propane to produce about 1.65 billion pounds per year (about 25,000 barrels per day) of polymer grade propylene.

The facility will be integrated with the partnership’s existing propylene fractionation facilities that have a capacity of 5.3 billion pounds per year (about 80,000 barrels per day), which will provide operational reliability and flexibility for the PDH unit and the fractionation facilities, the company says. The PDH facility will also be integrated with Enterprise’s polymer grade propylene storage facilities, 102-mile distribution pipeline system and export terminal.

“We had very strong customer demand for the remaining capacity in our PDH unit,” says A.J. “Jim” Teague, executive vice president and COO of Enterprise’s general partner, in a press release. “This demand is being driven by the combination of a 38 percent decrease in propylene supplies since 2006 due to additional ethane consumption by U.S. petrochemical companies and the growing supplies of domestic propane from the U.S. shale plays. We are continuing our discussions with several customers that could lead to a second PDH unit or additional propylene manufacturing capacity.”