Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) and Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPP) are constructing a condensate gathering system into their Three Rivers, Tex., terminal and doubling the mainline capacity on the Eagle Ford joint venture pipeline from Three Rivers to Corpus Christi, Tex.
The expansions are supported by a long-term production commitment and are expected to be placed into service during third-quarter 2015.
The Eagle Ford JV pipeline system is a 50-50 joint venture of PAA and EPP that delivers crude oil and condensate via pipeline from Gardendale in La Salle County, Tex., to the Three Rivers and Corpus Christi refineries, as well as other markets via marine transport facilities at Corpus Christi. The companies agreed upon its expansion last year (OGJ Online, Sept. 19, 2013).
The pipeline also supplies the Houston-area through a connection to EPP’s crude pipeline terminal at Lyssy in Wilson County, Tex.
As part of the expansion, PAA and EPP will construct a gathering system with 55 miles of gathering and trunkline pipeline that will connect Karnes County and Live Oak County production areas in Texas to the Three Rivers terminal.
The companies also will build an additional 70-mile, 20-in. pipeline from Three Rivers to Corpus Christi as well as expand storage and pumping capacity at Three Rivers. Combined with the previously announced expansion, this project effectively loops the Eagle Ford JV line from Gardendale to Corpus Christi and increases the JV system capacity to more than 600,000 b/d.
The Eagle Ford JV pipeline will be connected with the Cactus pipeline, which PAA is constructing from the Permian basin at McCamey to the Eagle Ford JV pipeline at Gardendale.
PAA and EPP also will build a terminal on the Corpus Christi ship channel to support the increased volumes to be shipped via pipeline to the region. The dock will have the capacity to handle a variety of oceangoing vessels and is planned to be in service by 2017.