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450,000 Barrels of Domestic Crude Oil Available with 354 Miles of New Pipeline Construction


oil pipeline (select to view enlarged photo)

HOUSTON & DALLAS--May 26, 2011: Enterprise Products Partners L.P. and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. today announced the start of a binding open commitment period for available capacity on a proposed crude oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to Houston that would be designed and constructed as part of a 50/50 joint venture between the two partnerships. The 584-mile Double E pipeline would provide up to 450,000 barrels per day (BPD) of takeaway capacity for crude oil currently stranded at the Cushing storage hub because of a lack of southbound pipeline infrastructure. The project would offer shippers greater access to the Gulf Coast refining complex, while providing refiners with a reliable, domestic source of crude oil as an alternative to higher priced imported crude oil that currently represents their largest source of supply. With Midcontinent crude oil production rapidly increasing, supplies from Canada on the rise and the development of shale plays such as the Bone Springs/Avalon, Bakken and Barnett continuing at a strong pace, the new pipeline is expected to remain a key outlet for crude oil bound for the Gulf Coast market.

As currently designed, the Double E pipeline would utilize approximately 230 miles of existing natural gas pipeline owned by Energy Transfer that would be converted to crude oil service, and require 354 miles of new construction that would follow existing pipeline corridors. With approximately 40 percent of the pipeline already in the ground, the planned project offers an expedient and cost-effective solution for the industry. Additionally, approximately 500,000 barrels of crude oil storage capacity being constructed at Enterprise’s ECHO terminal in southeast Harris County would be jointly owned by the joint venture partners.

During the binding open commitment period, which begins May 25, 2011 at 9 a.m. CDT and continues until July 8, 2011 at 5 p.m. CDT, interested shippers will have an opportunity to execute a firm Transportation Services Agreement to reserve capacity on the new pipeline. Subject to customer commitments and required approvals, the Double E pipeline is expected to begin service in the fourth quarter of 2012.

For commercial inquiries about the crude oil pipeline project, please contact: Bart Moore (713) 381-8267, bmoore@eprod.com at Enterprise or Lee Hanse (210) 403-6455, lee.hanse@energytransfer.com at Energy Transfer.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is the largest publicly traded partnership and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. EPD's assets include approximately: 50,200 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines; 192 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, refined products and crude oil; and 27 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. Services include: natural gas transportation, gathering, processing and storage; NGL fractionation, transportation, storage, and import and export terminaling; crude oil and refined products storage, transportation and terminaling; offshore production platform; petrochemical transportation and storage; and a marine transportation business that operates primarily on the United States inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. is a publicly traded partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of energy assets. ETP has pipeline operations in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Utah, and West Virginia and owns the largest intrastate pipeline system in Texas. ETP currently has natural gas operations that include more than 17,500 miles of gathering and transportation pipelines, treating and processing assets, and three storage facilities located in Texas. ETP also holds a 70 percent interest in a joint venture that owns and operates NGL storage, fractionation and transportation assets in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. ETP also is one of the three largest retail marketers of propane in the United States, serving more than one million customers across the country.

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. is a publicly traded partnership, which owns the general partner of Energy Transfer Partners and approximately 50.2 million ETP limited partner units; and owns the general partner of Regency Energy Partners and approximately 26.3 million Regency limited partner units.