Enterprise to expand storage capacity at US crude oil terminal

Enterprise Products Partners, a provider of midstream energy services, will increase storage capacity at a crude oil terminal currently under construction in the US state of Texas.

The company has purchased an additional 37-acre tract of land adjacent to its Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal in south-east Harris County for the capacity expansion.

The move will enable Enterprise to increase the crude oil storage capacity at the ECHO facility to about six million barrels.

The terminal is expected to commence operation in the second quarter of this year.

A.J "Jim" Teague, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Enterprise’s general partner, said: "This additional acreage builds on our plan to establish ECHO as the premier Gulf Coast delivery hub for growing North American crude oil production, providing shippers with the opportunity to maximise the value of their production.

"With its growing importance as an access point to the liquid Gulf Coast crude oil market, the ECHO terminal is being developed as a regional pricing point for the US Gulf Coast crude market," Teague said.

ECHO will initially receive the South Texas Eagle Ford shale crude oil coming through an Enterprise pipeline.

The first phase of the pipeline (147 miles), with a capacity of 350,000bpd, will begin service in the second quarter of 2012.

The second phase includes an 80-mile pipeline extending the crude oil system into the far southwest portion of the Eagle Ford shale, which will be completed next year.

Both phases of the pipeline project are anchored by long-term contracts with shippers.