Enterprise begins service at NGL fractionator, PDH 2 plant

Enterprise Products Partners started service at its 12th natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator and its second propane dehydrogenation plant (PDH 2), both in Chambers County, Texas.

The fractionator adds an incremental 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of nameplate capacity. Supported by long-term customer agreements, the new facility increases Enterprise’s NGL fractionation capacity to 1.2 million bpd at the Chambers County complex. Companywide, Enterprise now has about 1.7 million bpd of NGL fractionation capacity. The new fractionator is among $3.8 billion of major growth projects beginning service in 2023.

“The addition of our newest fractionator is being driven by growing domestic NGL production in the Permian Basin as new natural gas processing plants are brought online,” says A.J. “Jim” Teague, co-CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. “We recently began service at our sixth gas processing plant in the Midland Basin, with three other Permian Basin gas plants expected to come online by the end of the first quarter of 2024. On the demand side, the additional volumes will provide much-needed feedstocks for the petrochemical and refining industries, as well as products such as cleaner-burning, reliable propane for export to developing nations globally.”

Underwritten by long-term, fee-based contracts, PDH 2 has the capacity to consume 35,000 bpd of propane to produce 1.65 billion pounds of polymer grade propylene (PGP) per year. Combined with Enterprise’s existing PDH 1 plant, the company can consume 70,000 bpd of propane to produce 3.3 billion pounds per year of PGP at its Chambers County complex. Companywide, Enterprise now has the capacity to produce 11 billion pounds of propylene per year.

“Propylene is the basic building block used to produce virtually all durable products and, as one of the main pillars of modern civilization, is essential to human survival and improved quality of life,” Teague says. “PDH 2 will provide abundant and cost-advantaged shale-based, on-purpose production to supply our petrochemical customers with the feedstock to produce products that meet the needs of a growing global population. Our newest PDH plant is among $3.8 billion of major growth projects that we announced would begin service and generate new sources of cash flow by the end of 2023.”

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