New NGL pipeline designed to link producers to Gulf Coast

Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. announced an agreement to design and construct a new natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline that will originate from Skellytown, Texas, in Carson County and extend about 580 miles to NGL fractionation and storage facilities in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

The new Texas Express Pipeline (TEP) will help producers in west and central Texas, the Rocky Mountains, southern Oklahoma and the mid-continent maximize the value of their natural gas production by providing additional takeaway capacity and enhanced access to the Gulf Coast NGL market. Initial capacity on TEP will be about 280,000 barrels per day, which can be readily expanded to about 400,000 barrels per day.

In addition, the joint venture will include two new NGL gathering systems. The first will connect TEP to natural gas processing plants in the Anadarko/Granite Wash production area located in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma.

The second NGL gathering system will connect the new pipeline to central Texas, Barnett Shale processing plants. Volumes from the Rockies, Permian Basin and mid-continent regions will be delivered to the TEP system utilizing Enterprise’s existing Mid-America Pipeline assets between the Conway hub and Enterprise’s Hobbs NGL fractionation facility in Gaines County, Texas.

Enterprise will construct and serve as the operator of the pipeline, while Enbridge will build and operate the new gathering systems. The pipeline and gathering systems are expected to begin service in the second quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.

The Texas Express Pipeline will also supply petrochemical facilities with a reliable and domestic source of feedstock. Demand for natural gas-derived feedstocks remains strong, and it has been driven by the wide spread between crude oil and natural gas prices.