Enterprise and Oiltanking signed 50 years Agreement
The US-based midstream companies Enterprise Products Partners LP (Enterprise) and Oiltanking Partners partners LP (Oiltanking) entered in a 50 years agreement to support the additional expansion of the existing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal sited along the Houston Ship Channel in Texas, USA.
By this agreement, Oiltanking will provide Enterprise with new lands and infrastructures to allow the expansion of the existing Enterprise Houston Ship Channel LPG Terminal.
Enterprise and Oiltanking are cooperating in the Houston Ship Channel LPG Terminal since 1980s and had just extended in September 2013 the duration of their agreement until 2026.
At that time Enterprise was just completing a first expansion of its Houston LPG Terminal from 4 million barrels per month (b/m) to 7.5 million b/m.
This September 2013 agreement between Enterprise and Oiltanking was also signed to support a second expansion of this Houston LPG Terminal to 9 million b/m of low-ethane propane and butane.
The new agreement, announced in January 2014, has a double target, to :
– Support a third expansion to nearly double Houston Ship Channel LPG Terminal export capacity to 16 million b/m
– Extend the duration of the existing agreement from 2026 to 2063
This extension will guaranty the payback of Oiltanking on the investments required to support the new infrastructures to support Enterprise Houston LPG Terminal.
Enterprise drops US Gulf Coast LPG Terminal project
In making the decision to double capacity in its Houston LPG Terminal, Enterprise has cancelled the previously announced greenfield new LPG project planned along the US Gulf Coast in Louisiana or Texas.
The purpose of this US Gulf Coast LPG project was to be able to load very large gas carriers (VLGC) class ships.
In that respect different locations were investigated that could have been connected to the Mont Belvieu NGL complex and with deep water harbour to host LVGCs.
This greenfield project was designed with a shipping capacity of 6 to 6.5 million b/m of low-ethane propane and butane.
Such a scenario was presenting some risks and drawbacks for Oiltanking and Enterprise.
For Oiltanking the risk was to see all future capacity expansions to go to this greenfield Gulf Coast LPG Terminal instead of the Houston Ship Channel.
For Enterprise the drawback was the time frame required to design and build a greenfield facility compared with the usual fast track expansion of an existing plant.
Through this new agreement concentrating all the capital expenditures in the existing export facilities, Enterprise and Oiltanking will save overall costs for more capacity for this Houston Ship Channel LPG Terminal expansion project to come on stream in early 2016.
