Energy Transfer expands Nederland NGL Export Terminal

The Gulf Coast project, which includes pipeline upgrades, new ship docks, and expanded refrigerated storage tanks, aims to increase the facility’s export capacity for natural gas liquids to over 1.25 million bpd by 2029.

Energy Transfer is expanding its Nederland NGL Export Terminal to meet customer demand.

The project will increase ethane export capacity in Nederland, Texas, by 240,000 barrels per day (bpd), along with 55,000 bpd of additional LPG capacity, the company reported. One hundred percent of the ethane export capacity is committed in long-term agreements running into the 2040s.

Since Energy Transfer began exporting ethane out of Nederland in 2021, the company has exported over 430 million barrels. This latest project demonstrates that the continued growth in global NGL demand supports expansion of Energy Transfer’s Nederland assets, which partnered with the company’s wellhead-to-water system platform, creates a network capable of providing North American energy to the rest of the world, Energy Transfer maintained.

As part of these transactions, Energy Transfer also plans to expand its Mont Belvieu-to-Nederland NGL export pipeline capacity to service the increased refrigeration capacity and construct two additional NGL ship docks. The company expects its previously announced expansion of the Nederland refrigerated propane and butane storage tanks to 1.2 million barrels and 0.8 million barrels, respectively, to be available in the first half of 2027. These assets, along with Energy Transfer’s existing 1.3 million barrel refrigerated ethane tank, provide the largest refrigerated storage capacity for each of these products of any export complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast, the company said.

The expansion project is expected to be placed into service in stages beginning in 2028.

Following the anticipated completion of the additional docks in mid-2029, the refrigerated NGL export capacity at Nederland will be greater than 1.25 million bpd. Combined with the Marcus Hook NGL Export Facility capacity of 420,000 bpd (post-expansion mid-2027), Energy Transfer’s total NGL refrigerated export capacity will be approximately 1.7 million bpd.

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