abarrelfull wrote on 14 Jan 2014 14:01
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Mar. 12, 2009
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) today announced it has recently commenced operations at the partnership’s Meeker II natural gas processing plant in the Piceance Basin of Colorado. The Meeker II expansion doubles the natural gas processing capacity at the Meeker complex to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) with the capability to extract up to 70,000 barrels per day (BPD) of natural gas liquids (NGLs). Enterprise has also begun operations at its recently expanded Shilling and Thompsonville natural gas processing plants in South Texas, and expects the partnership’s relocated Chaparral facility in the Permian Basin to begin processing natural gas later in March. The Meeker complex is supported by long-term commitments from 10 of the largest producers in the Piceance Basin. Current inlet volume at Meeker is approximately 750 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) with approximately 38,000 BPD of NGLs being extracted. Natural gas volumes are projected to reach approximately 1.1 Bcf/d by the end of 2009, which is expected to produce approximately 60,000 BPD of NGLs.
“Meeker is an integral component of our western midstream energy system,” said A.J. “Jim” Teague, Enterprise executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “This expansion will facilitate the continuing growth in natural gas production from the Piceance Basin that is expected in 2009 and 2010 despite the effects of the recent decrease in drilling activity. Based on producer estimates, there are over 300 wells that have been completed in the basin that are waiting for pipeline connections. Meeker, through its connection with the White River natural gas hub, provides producers with access to markets through connections with six interstate pipelines that have approximately 2.5 Bcf/d of total takeaway capacity.”
The Chaparral facility was an idle plant that was acquired in the merger with GulfTerra Energy Partners L.P. in 2004 and was recently relocated from southeast Texas to serve producers in the Permian Basin. The facility, which can handle up to 40 MMcf/d of natural gas and extract more than 2,000 BPD of NGLs, serves the partnership’s approximately 900-mile Carlsbad Gathering System in southeast New Mexico. Chaparral offers area producers an attractive alternative in the form of enhanced flexibility and access to additional midstream energy services.
As part of the project, Enterprise constructed a new 13-mile, 4-inch diameter NGL pipeline that links the processing plant to TEPPCO Partners, L.P.’s (NYSE:TPP) Chaparral pipeline, which transports NGLs to the world’s largest fractionation complex at Mont Belvieu, Texas. Additionally, interconnects with major interstate natural gas transmission pipeline systems provide producers with access to markets in the western United States.
Expansion projects have also been completed and placed into service at two natural gas processing facilities that are part of Enterprise’s South Texas system. At the Shilling plant in Webb County, capacity has been increased 83 percent, from 60 MMcf/d to 110 MMcf/d, as part of a project that involved relocating equipment from idle plants and modifying existing infrastructure. This initiative has allowed Enterprise to increase its market share in the region and provide added flexibility in accessing industrial end users along the Gulf Coast and the Houston Ship Channel.
The partnership also took the approach of modifying existing equipment rather than building new systems to expand its Thompsonville natural gas processing plant in Jim Hogg County. Re-piping and other efforts designed to enhance efficiency increased capacity at the facility by 10 percent, from 300 MMcf/d to 330 MMcf/d, while maintaining ethane and propane recovery percentages.
Teague added, “These expansions in South Texas and the Permian Basin serve as ideal examples of the various growth opportunities created by our diverse portfolio of assets comprising our integrated energy value chain. The creativity and expertise of our personnel in utilizing existing resources to limit expenditures whenever possible is consistent with our strategy of pursuing initiatives that generate the most attractive returns while making the most efficient use of our assets and capital.”