Enterprise Products Partners plans to further expand its natural gas processing capabilities in the Permian Basin with construction of the Mentone West 2 plant in the Delaware Basin.
The new facility, to be located in Loving County, Texas, will have the capacity to process more than 300 million cu. ft. per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas and to extract in excess of 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) of natural gas liquids (NGLs). The plant is expected to begin service in the second quarter of 2026.
Elsewhere in the Delaware Basin, Enterprise has begun service on its Mentone 3 natural gas processing plant, which is also capable of processing over 300 MMcf/d of natural gas and extracting more than 40,000 bpd of NGLs. Construction of the Mentone West 1 plant, formerly known as Mentone 4, is on schedule and projected to begin service in the second half of 2025. Following completion of the projects, Enterprise will have the capacity to process more than 2.8 billion cu. ft. per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas and to extract in excess of 370,000 bpd of NGLs in the Delaware Basin.
In the Midland Basin, Enterprise says its Leonidas natural gas processing plant in Midland County, Texas, has begun service, and construction of the Orion natural gas processing facility is proceeding on schedule with service expected to begin in the second half of 2025. Each of the plants has the design capacity to process more than 300 MMcf/d of natural gas and to extract over 40,000 bpd of NGLs. With the completion of Orion, Enterprise will have the capacity to process 1.9 Bcf/d of natural gas and to extract more than 270,000 bpd of NGLs. The plants in the Delaware and Midland basins are supported by long-term producer dedications and minimum volume commitments.
“The Permian Basin is expected to account for more than 90 percent of domestic NGL production by the end of the decade as producers and oilfield service companies continue to push the envelope and develop new and more efficient techniques in one of the world’s most prolific energy basins,” says A.J. “Jim” Teague, co-CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. “With the expansion of our natural gas processing network, Enterprise is facilitating this growth and providing safe and reliable access to domestic and international markets.”
TW Products System begins service
In other company news, Enterprise placed the Texas Western Products System (TW Products System) in service with the start of truck-loading operations at its new Permian terminal in Gaines County, Texas.
The facility features approximately 900,000 barrels of storage for gasoline and diesel, and truck-loading capacity of 10,000 bpd. The company expects the remainder of the system, which includes terminals in the Jal and Albuquerque, New Mexico, areas, as well as the Grand Junction, Colorado, area, to be placed in service later in the first half of 2024.
“Once completed, the TW Products System will provide supply reliability and diversity to the historically underserved gasoline and diesel markets in the southwest United States,” Teague says. “By repurposing segments of our integrated Gulf Coast midstream network, which features access to the largest refining complex in the U.S., representing more than 4.5 million bpd of capacity, the TW Products System will provide retailers access to alternative sources of refined products, which should result in lower fuel prices for consumers in West Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.”
To supply the terminals, Enterprise is converting segments of its Chaparral and Mid-America NGL pipeline systems to accommodate refined products. Utilizing a batched delivery system will give the company the ability to continue transporting mixed NGLs and NGL purity products in addition to gasoline and diesel.
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