Magellan Midstream Partners Will Spend $250 Million on Condensate Splitter

Magellan Corpus Christi Terminal
Magellan Corpus Christi Terminal

Magellan Midstream Partners announced in late March plans to build a condensate splitter and make infrastructure improvements to its' Corpus Christi terminal for $250 million. According to company officials, the splitter will be able to process 50,000 b/d of condensate, supported by a long-term commitment from commodities trader Trafigura AG.

This agreement will provide another outlet for producers of domestic crude and condensate. We believe Corpus Christi is advantaged over other locations and these investments, along with our other assets in the area, are critical to providing long-term solutions for the producers.
— Jeff Kopp, Trafigura AG’s director of North America oil trading.

The need for improved midstream and downstream infrastructure is growing to meet the demands of condensate production in the Eagle Ford. In 2013, the Texas Railroad Commission reported an average of 207,183 b/d of condensate from the play. In January of 2014, condensate production alone was 178,778. That's up drastically from 2011 and 2010 when condensate production was only 80,464 b/d and 18,784 respectively.

Our Corpus Christi terminal is ideally situated to receive condensate from the Eagle Ford shale, including shipments via our Double Eagle pipeline joint venture, and to offer flexible services and a variety of market options for our customer.
— Michael Mears, Magellan’s chief executive officer.

The project also includes construction of more than one million barrels of storage, dock improvements and two additional truck rack bays at Magellan’s terminal. Magellan pipeline connectivity between Magellan’s terminal and Trafigura AG’s nearby facility.

Magellan company officials anticipate the new splitter and infrastructure improvements to be operational during the second half of 2016.

Read more at magellanlp.com