ExxonMobil Corp. will acquire from Enterprise Products Partners LP, Houston, a 40% undivided joint interest (UJI) in Enterprise’s Bahia natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline with investment aimed at increasing throughput by 400,000 b/d.
ExxonMobil will contribute its proportionate share of Bahia project costs to date, or about $650 million, according to an SEC filing.
The 550-mile Bahia pipeline, which has started commissioning activities and will begin commercial operations immediately thereafter, will have an initial capacity to transport 600,000 b/d of NGLs from the Midland and Delaware basins of West Texas to Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu fractionation complex, Enterprise said in a release Nov. 20.
The companies' plan to increase Bahia’s capacity to 1 million b/d includes adding incremental pumping capacity and constructing a 92-mile extension to ExxonMobil’s Cowboy natural gas processing plant in Eddy County, NM. ExxonMobil will own a 70% UJI in this extension.
The extension will also connect to multiple Enterprise-owned processing plants in the Delaware basin.
The expansion and extension are expected to be completed in fourth-quarter 2027. ExxonMobil’s interest will be referred to as the Cowboy Connector. Enterprise will operate the combined system.
Growing Permian basin production
ExxonMobil, in a separate statement Nov. 20, said the investment will help connect its growing production in the Permian basin to US Gulf Coast refining and chemical plants and enable access to export logistics to serve markets around the world.
In its third-quarter report released late last month, ExxonMobil said it set a Permian production record of nearly 1.7 MMboe/d, while expanding its use of low-cost refinery coke as a proppant that penetrates deeper into fracs, improving well recoveries by up to 20%.
Noting the growth in Permian production, A.J. “Jim” Teague, co-chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner, pointed to the increasing ratio of natural gas and NGL production to crude oil production.
The Bahia pipeline, he said, “will be an essential artery to deliver mixed NGLs to the fractionation complex in Mont Belvieu. From 2024 to 2030, NGL production in the Permian basin is expected to increase by over 30%.”
The deal is expected to close by early 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
