Enterprise starts operations at natural gas processing plant

Enterprise Products Partners started commercial operations at its new cryogenic natural gas processing facility in Eddy County, N.M.

The South Eddy Plant has a nameplate capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas processing, and it is capable of extracting up to 25,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids (NGL). Prior to the startup of the cryogenic natural gas facility, much of the natural gas processed at the plant was flared, shut in or blended into a residue pipeline with no NGL upgrade.

“The South Eddy Plant is a key component of our overall strategy to double Enterprise’s natural gas processing capacity in the Delaware Basin during 2016,” says Jim Teague, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner, in a press release.

Enterprise plans to develop a second cryogenic processing facility. The second facility is scheduled to begin service in the third quarter of 2016 and will add 150 million cubic feet per day to the facility’s capacity, Teague says.

The company constructed about 90 miles of high-pressure gathering lines to supply the South Eddy Plant. The partnership completed a 71-mile extension of its Mid-America Pipeline system that provides Delaware Basin producers with NGL takeaway capacity and direct access to Enterprise’s integrated network of NGL assets.

“Despite the decrease in rig count nationwide, the Delaware Basin remains very active,” Teague says. “The additional processing capacity, combined with the connectivity of our integrated midstream network, will provide Delaware Basin producers with unmatched access to the NGL fractionation and storage hub at Mont Belvieu, Texas, as well as attractive domestic and international markets.”