Enterprise starts up Mentone natural gas processing plant

Enterprise Products Partners LP has commissioned its Mentone cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Loving County, Tex., in the Delaware basin (OGJ Online, Oct. 31, 2018).

Equipped to process 300 MMcfd of gas and extract more than 40,000 b/d of NGLs, the Mentone plant—which is supported by a long-term acreage dedication agreement—recently entered service, Enterprise said on Jan. 21.

While the operator did not disclose a specific timeframe for when Mentone reached startup, Enterprise said commissioning of this seventh gas plant in the Delaware basin brings the company’s total capacity in the Permian basin to more than 1.6 bcfd of natural gas processing and more than 250,000 b/d of NGL extraction, according to its two most recent presentations to investors.

Alongside the new plant, Enterprise also built 66 miles of large-diameter gathering and residue pipelines, as well as expanded compression capabilities linking Mentone to the partnership’s NGL and Texas Intrastate natural gas pipeline networks.

“These assets provide critical infrastructure to facilitate growing natural gas and NGL production in the region, which is expected to increase by more than 60% over the next 5 years," said Brent Secrest, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer of Enterprise’s general partner. “The addition of Mentone also enhances access to our fully integrated midstream network of assets linking producers in the Delaware basin to domestic and international demand.”

To accommodate the increase in NGLs, Enterprise also confirmed it remains in the process of adding 300,000-b/d of fractionation capacity at its Mont Belvieu, Tex. Complex in two 150,000-b/d projects (OGJ Online, Nov. 6, 2018; Oct. 31, 2018; Sept. 5, 2018).

In a December 2019 presentation to investors, Enterprise said the Mont Belvieu fractionation units, named Frac 10 and Frac 11, were scheduled for startup in fourth-quarter 2019 and second-quarter 2020, respectively.