Enterprise Products Partners LP said Tuesday it is extending its ethylene pipeline and logistics system further into South Texas to take advantage of a growing list of crackers and ethylene derivative plants underway to accommodate oil and gas growth from the Lower 48.

The Baymark ethylene pipeline in Texas would originate in the Bayport area of southeastern Harris County and extend about 90 miles to Markham in Matagorda County. The pipeline, supported by long-term customer commitments, is scheduled to begin service in late 2020.

“The U.S. petrochemical industry is experiencing unprecedented growth with production of ethylene expected to exceed 100 billion pounds per year by 2025,” said Enterprise general partner CEO A.J. “Jim” Teague. “This growth in the petrochemical sector is creating additional opportunities for Enterprise to grow our midstream petrochemical services.

“The Baymark Pipeline further extends our petrochemical value chain, providing producing and consuming customers with enhanced access to the largest liquids storage hub in North America at Mont Belvieu, as well as linking them to growing domestic and international markets.”

The project is a joint venture between Enterprise and Lavaca Pipe Line Co., a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Corp. USA. Enterprise would be the majority owner, operator, and commercial manager for the new pipeline.

Baymark would provide access to a high-capacity ethylene storage well that Enterprise is repurposing at its Mont Belvieu complex near Houston. It also would have connectivity to the ethylene export terminal currently under construction at Morgan’s Point east of Houston.

The storage well is expected to be completed by the end of September with capacity of 600 million pounds. The terminal would have the capacity to export about 2.2 billion pounds/year of ethylene and is on schedule to begin service later this year.