Enterprise Products Partners LP said July 8 it is planning three additional expansion projects that will increase the partnership’s capacity to load LPG, polymer grade propylene (PGP) and crude oil from its Enterprise Hydrocarbon Terminal (EHT) on the Houston Ship Channel.

Currently, Enterprise’s nameplate LPG loading capacity is about 660,000 barrels per day (bbl/d). Previously, Enterprise announced a project to add 175,000 bbl/d of LPG loading capacity, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed late third quarter of 2019. The additional projects announced July 8 will increase incremental LPG loading capacity by another 260,000 bbl/d and are expected to be in service in third-quarter 2020. When completed, the projects will give EHT nameplate capacity to load up to almost 1.1 million barrels per day (MMbbl/d)  of LPG, or about 33 MMbbl per month.

In response to record demand for PGP by international markets, the partnership is adding refrigeration facilities at its Houston Ship Channel terminal that will enable Enterprise to load up to an incremental 67,200 bbl/d, or approximately 2 MMbbl per month, of fully refrigerated PGP. With this expansion project, Enterprise will increase flexibility by offering customers the capability to co-load fully refrigerated PGP and LPG onto the same vessel. This expansion is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2020.

As part of the expansion, Enterprise is also building an eighth dock at its Houston Ship Channel terminal with the capability to load approximately 840,000 bbl/d of crude oil, increasing the partnership’s nameplate export capacity for crude oil at the Houston Ship Channel to 2.75 MMbbl/d, or nearly 83 MMbbl per month. Expected to begin service in the fourth quarter of 2020, the new dock will be able to accommodate a Suezmax vessel, the largest ship class that can navigate the Houston Ship Channel.

“We are pleased to announce this additional investment in our Houston Ship Channel marine terminals,” said A.J. “Jim” Teague, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. “In total, these expansions will enable us to load an incremental 1.3 million barrels per day of LPG, polymer grade propylene and crude oil. Our integrated midstream system, including our Houston Ship Channel terminal, is providing Texas products with access to the highest value markets, including international markets. These projects utilize the latest technology to modify and expand existing facilities and represent a very efficient use of capital with attractive returns. A key driver and catalyst to make these additional investments in our Houston Ship Channel complex is clarity and certainty provided by recent legislation signed into law by Governor Abbott that ensures two-way traffic along the Houston Ship Channel.”

Enterprise estimates that by 2025 exports of U.S. crude oil will increase from 3 MMbbl/d to 8 MMbbl/d and the domestic LPG export market will double from 1.4 MMbbl/d to 2.8. Much of this growth is being driven by increasing production from the Permian Basin of Texas. The flexibility of the partnership’s integrated midstream network, combined with unmatched access to supplies, position Enterprise to capitalize on future growth opportunities along the Gulf Coast.