Plains All American Expanding Eagle Ford Fractionation & Condensate Stabilization

January 2, 2014 R.T. Dukes

Plains All American plans to spend $120 million to construct a new natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator and expand its condensate stabilization facility in South Texas.

The new fractionator will be located near the company's Gardendale facilities in La Salle County, TX.

The fractionator is supported by third party commitments and will have capacity of 15,000 b/d of Y-Grade and off-spec Y-Grade products.

Also Read: Plains & Enterprise Announce Eagle For JV Pipeline Expansion

Plain All American's existing Gardendale truck and rail infrastructure will be upgraded to handle unloading and loading of Y-Grade products. Plains will also build 80,000 bbls of storage for the NGL products

The condensate stabilization train will be the third in the area and will provide approximately 40,000 barrels per day of incremental capacity. Total capacity will be 120,000 b/d when it is completed.

Plains & Enterprise Announce Eagle Ford JV Pipeline Expansion

September 23, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Plains All American and Enterprise Products are planning a $120 million expansion of the Eagle Ford JV Pipeline system. The expansion will increase the pipeline's capacity to 470,000 b/d of light and medium crude grades, as well as increase storage capacity in Corpus Christi, Gardendale, and Tilden by 2.3 million barrels.

The JV pipeline system is largely in service and will be completed by September 30, 2013. The companies will add capacity by looping pipelines and adding pumping capacity. The expansion will be complete by the second quarter of 2015. The JV pipeline was initially planned with potential for 350,000 b/d of capacity.

The expansion will be completed in time to support production moving through Plains' Cactus Pipeline. The Cactus Pipeline will have the capacity to move 200,000 b/d from West Texas into the Eagle Ford region.

Read the full press release at paalp.com or enterpriseproducts.com

Enterprise Products Third Yoakum Processing Plant Online, Volumes Up

May 1, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Enterprise Product Partners brought its third cryogenic processing plant in Yoakum, TX, online in March and is reaping the benefits. Natural gas processing volumes are up 38% and NGL production is up 532% from one year ago in South Texas.

The Yoakum Facility in Lavaca County will have ultimate capacity of 900 mmcfd. The first plant at the Yoakum Facility came online in May of 2012, the second in August of 2012, and the Third in March of 2013. From just a year ago, fee-based processing volumes in the region have increased by 622 mmcfd and equity NGL production has increased by 27,000 b/d.

It's good timing. Volumes in the Rocky Mountains have fallen considerably, but South Texas growth has more than offset the declines.

Enterprise is also on pace to complete construction of its latest segment of its Eagle Ford crude oil pipeline in the third quarter. The project is a joint venture with Plains All American Pipeline. You can read more about the joint venture in the article Plains All American - Enterprise Eagle Ford Crude Oil Joint Venture.

Those aren't the only assets benefiting from Eagle Ford growth:

“The Texas Intrastate pipeline system reported an $8 million increase in gross operating margin on a 389 billion British thermal units per day (“BBtud”) increase in natural gas pipeline volumes compared to the first quarter of 2012 as a result of increases in Eagle Ford shale production. ”

Read the full press release at enterpriseproducts.com

Plains All American Planning Cactus Pipeline - McCamey to Gardendale

April 16, 2013 R.T. Dukes

Plains All American Pipeline announced a new $350 million pipeline that will move 200,000 b/d of crude oil from the Permian Basin into the Eagle Ford region. The Cactus Pipeline will be a 310-mile, 20-inch crude oil pipeline from McCamey, TX, to the Gardendale Area in La Salle County, TX.The pipeline is supported by a long-term capacity commitment and is expected to be in service in the first quarter of 2015. Plains estimates total costs will come in around $350 to $375 million.

From La Salle County, crude will have access to the Gardendale rail or Plains and Enterprise's Eagle Ford Joint Venture system. The Eagle Ford JV Pipeline provides direct access to Corpus Christi and Three Rivers, as well as access to Houston through Entrprise's South Texas Crude Oil Pipeline. In Corpus Christi, oil has access to marine terminals.

In an oil price environment with large basis differentials, options can create a lot of value. Permian crude will now have access to barges, railroads, and pipelines in South Texas.

Read the full press release at paalp.com

Plains All American - Chesapeake Reach Deal for Eagle Ford Gathering - $125 Million

December 13, 2012 R.T. Dukes

Plains All American (PAA) added another deal to Chesapeake's list of midstream sales. The companies agreed to a $125 million deal for crude oil and condensate gathering assets located in Webb and Dimmit counties. This follows a Chesapeake deal with Access Midstream Partners for $2.16 billion that also included Eagle Ford assets.

The assets include 40 miles of crude oil and condensate gathering lines with capacity to move 50,000 b/d, 150,000 bbls of storage capacity, 300,000 bbls of storage capacity under construction, and a truck unloading terminal.

Chesapeake also made acreage dedications including future production as part of the sale (CHK's Eagle Ford acreage is highlighted in the map above). The gathering assets will now connect with PAA's existing assets in the area.

CHK's CEO Aubrey McClendon made the following comment as part of a press release related to a larger midstream package:

“We are pleased to announce further progress towards our asset sale goals for 2012-13. We look forward to completing additional asset sales and achieving our goals of strengthening our balance sheet, tightening our asset focus and increasing returns to shareholders.”

Read the press release at paalp.com