EPA approves GHG permit for new Texas fractionator

April 24, 2014
The US Environmental Protection Agency last week issued a final greenhouse gas (GHG) prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) construction permit to Lone Star NGL LLC, a joint venture of Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) and Regency Energy Partners LP, Dallas.

The US Environmental Protection Agency last week issued a final greenhouse gas (GHG) prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) construction permit to Lone Star NGL LLC, a joint venture of Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) and Regency Energy Partners LP, Dallas.

The permit is for a 100,000-b/d NGL fractionator at Mont Belvieu, that would be the third the company has built there. Late in 2013 Lone Star started up a second plant (OGJ Online, Nov. 4, 2013); the initial fractionator began operating at yearend 2012 (OGJ Online, Feb. 27, 2013).

Both fractionators receive NGLs from several sources, including Lone Star’s West Texas NGL pipelines and ETP’s Justice NGL pipeline.

Lone Star and ETP declined to confirm to OGJ any plans for a third fractionator or to make any comment on EPA’s announcement. ETP’s annual 10K report for 2013 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission similarly makes no mention of plans for a third fractionator at Mont Belvieu, despite the contemporaneous progress of a permit request through the EPA approval process.