abarrelfull wrote on 14 Jan 2014 10:04
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Oct. 15, 2007
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) today announced that it has begun processing natural gas at the recently completed first phase of the partnership's Meeker processing complex, located in Colorado's Piceance Basin. The plant has a capacity of 750 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas and is capable of extracting up to 35,000 barrels per day (BPD) of natural gas liquids (NGLs). Phase II of the complex, which is now under construction and expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2008, will double processing capacity at Meeker to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas and 70,000 BPD of NGLs. The two phases are supported by long-term commitments from producers, including EnCana and ExxonMobil. Current inlet volumes at the plant are approximately 430 MMcf/d, which is expected to produce up to 24,000 BPD of NGLs. Natural gas volumes are expected to exceed 500 MMcf/d by the end of 2007, which will produce more than 27,700 BPD of NGLs.
"The Piceance Basin represents one of the most prolific and fastest growing energy producing areas in the nation, and the completion of our Meeker facility provides the region with valuable midstream infrastructure needed to accommodate those growing volumes," said Michael A. Creel, Enterprise president and chief executive officer. "For Enterprise, Meeker provides us with yet another foothold from which to capitalize on additional opportunities in the Piceance Basin and generate incremental cash flow for our investors."
The Meeker complex complements other projects recently completed as part of Enterprise's Rocky Mountain growth initiative and reinforces the partnership's integrated energy value chain philosophy. Specifically, the 50,000 BPD expansion of the Mid-America Pipeline enables the system to accommodate the increased volumes of NGLs that will be extracted at Meeker. In addition, Enterprise's Hobbs fractionator, which began service in August of 2007, offers another key hub for separating mixed NGLs produced at Meeker into purity products, such as ethane, propane, isobutane, normal butane and natural gasoline. The Hobbs plant, which is expected to be at or near its design capacity of 75,000 BPD by the end of October, provides customers with additional options for accessing the most attractive markets, allowing them to realize full value for their products.
In addition to their processing agreements with Enterprise, EnCana and other producers are also supporting the Meeker initiative through fixed-fee natural gas gathering contracts on the partnership's Piceance Creek Gathering System. The 48-mile, 36-inch diameter pipeline has a capacity of 1.6 Bcf/d and extends from a connection with EnCana's Great Divide Gathering System near Parachute, Colorado northward through the heart of the Piceance Basin to the Meeker complex.
The Meeker complex also figures prominently in a 30-year midstream services agreement with a division of Exxon Mobil Corporation. As part of the agreement, Enterprise will provide gathering, compression, treating and conditioning services for natural gas produced as part of ExxonMobil's Piceance Development Project, which encompasses more than 29,000 acres in Rio Blanco County, Colorado.
Production in the Piceance Basin, which covers more than 6,000 square miles, currently exceeds 1.15 Bcf/d from more than 5,400 natural gas wells and has been growing at an annualized rate averaging about 25 percent over the past five years. Recent studies conducted by independent energy researchers estimate recoverable gas resources of approximately 42 trillion cubic feet from the Piceance Basin.
Independence update
Enterprise also announced today that production through the partnership's Independence Hub natural gas platform in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico has reached approximately 600 million cubic feet per day from 10 wells. As the initial 15 wells are brought on line, producers expect that production at the Independence Hub will be at or near its capacity of 1 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2007.
Located in 8,000 feet of water, the record-setting Independence Hub, which was conceived, designed and constructed by Enterprise, is the deepest offshore platform ever installed in the Gulf and is also the largest in terms of processing capability. The Independence Hub is owned 80 percent by Enterprise, with Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. owning the remaining 20 percent. Enterprise owns 100 percent of the 134-mile Independence Trail pipeline, which transports natural gas from the Hub to the partnership's West Delta 68 platform for delivery to shore via a third party pipeline.