Service has begun on a new 30,000-ton refrigerated ethylene storage tank at the Morgan’s Point, Texas, ethylene storage terminal along the Houston Ship Channel, 50/50 owners Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) and Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NVGS) reported Tuesday.
Enterprise and Navigator stated the 21,000-cubic-meter ethylene gas carrier Navigator Atlas was the first vessel to use the new service, having loaded at the Morgan’s Point facility on Dec. 23, 2020. The companies contend the tank will facilitate faster loading, increase efficiency for terminal customers and allow the terminal to reach an annual nameplate export capacity of 1 million tons per year.
“Our fully commissioned Morgan’s Point ethylene export facility is the largest and most reliable supply source for waterborne ethylene in the world,” remarked A.J. “Jim” Teague, co-CEO of Enterprise’s general partner, in a joint written statement from the companies. “The terminal is backed by the supply of the entire U.S. Gulf Coast via our growing ethylene midstream services, which include our open access storage and market hub in Mont Belvieu.”
A 600-million-pound ethylene storage cavern at Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu, Texas, natural gas liquids complex supplies ethylene to the new Morgan’s Point tank, and Enterprise can expand its underground caverns further to accommodate additional ethylene storage, Enterprise and Navigator stated. They noted that ethylene serves as the primary feedstock for myriad consumer products, including cell phones, computer parts, food packaging, apparel, textiles and personal protective equipment.
“The commissioning of the Morgan’s Point terminal in the face of a yearlong pandemic is testimony to the high-quality talent and dedicated team assigned to this project,” commented David Butters, Navigator Holdings’ executive chairman. “We congratulate all employees and third-party contractors for the superb job in completing the export terminal on time and under budget. We expect the terminal to operate at capacity, utilizing Enterprise’s vast interconnected ethylene platform, and to create strong demand for Navigator’s fleet of specialized ethylene-capable vessels.”
To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment