ATEX pipeline plans for propane service

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is gauging shipper support for transporting propane to Mont Belvieu, Texas, on its Appalachia-to-Texas Express Pipeline (ATEX). The open season will begin June 5 and run through July 11.

“Transporting propane to Mont Belvieu – the largest, most liquid trading and storage hub – will provide Northeast producers with a reliable outlet for their excess propane and help maximize the value of their production,” says Michael Creel, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner, in a press release. “If export markets soften, Mont Belvieu is best positioned to store and distribute propane to the petrochemical and propane dehydrogenation markets and to other pipeline-connected destinations originating from Mont Belvieu.”

Currently, the ATEX pipeline has long-term contracts in place for ethane transportation to Mont Belvieu. To accommodate propane shipments, Enterprise will loop a portion of ATEX, add pumping capacity as needed and install additional facilities for the delivery of specification ethane and propane at destination points. Propane transportation service is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2015.