Enterprise Products Partners LP said Tuesday it is tying in more natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to be carried on its Independence Trail pipeline.

The partnership has signed up LLOG Exploration Co. LLC and LLOG Deepwater Development Co. LLC for interconnect and transportation agreements for gas production from four blocks in the Mississippi Canyon area, including LLOG Exploration’s Who Dat Field.

The volumes will be delivered into Independence Trail through a new 10-inch diameter, 17-mile pipeline originating from the LLOG-operated Opti-Ex production platform that will be installed at Mississippi Canyon Block 547. The export pipeline will be owned by LLOG Deepwater Development. Independence Trail will transport the gas to an interconnect with Tennessee Gas Pipeline at Enterprise’s West Delta 68 platform.

LLOG’s 10-inch diameter pipeline will interconnect with Independence Trail at a subsea tee assembly that Enterprise pre-installed in more than 4,400 feet of water at Mississippi Canyon Block 553. It is one of several subsea assemblies that were pre-installed on Independence Trail when it was built in 2007. After LLOG’s tie-in, Independence Trail will have four tee assemblies available to accommodate additional export pipelines. Installation of the production platform at Mississippi Canyon Block 547 is expected in the second quarter, with first production scheduled to begin in the second half of 2011.

“Having the flexibility to link additional pipelines from multiple producing areas was one of the considerations that went into the planning and design of the Independence Trail pipeline,” said Michael A. Creel, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. “This planning and the additional capital investment at the time Independence Trail was built have resulted in a more cost-efficient solution for our customers because these types of tie-ins can be done quickly and require little to no additional capital investment. This interconnect with LLOG will have the capability to add up to 150 MMcf/d of incremental natural gas volumes to Independence Trail and provide an additional source of fee-based revenue for our partnership.”

Independence Trail has capacity of about 1 Bcf/d and originates at the Independence Hub platform and extends 134 miles to Enterprise’s West Delta 68 platform.

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