Development of the emerging Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas got a boost from Enterprise Products Partners LP, which agreed to provide natural gas transportation and processing services to an undisclosed producer, the Houston-based company said Tuesday.

The agreement, with “one of the largest and most active producers in this emerging play,” covers more than 150,000 acres, said Enterprise CEO Michael Creel. The shale formation, which is known as the “Eagle Ford” and the “Eagleford” play, is beneath or near some of Enterprise’s Texas energy assets.

Producers exploring the shale play include Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (see Daily GPI, May 8), Petrohawk Energy Corp.(see Daily GPI, April 22), ConocoPhillips (see Daily GPI, March 12) and St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. (see Daily GPI, Feb. 25).

The Eagle Ford Shale has “shown early success,” Creel said, and Enterprise’s “integrated network of energy infrastructure in the region is strategically positioned and well suited” to accommodate the play’s natural gas liquids-rich gas “and will serve as a platform for additional growth opportunities, as well as incremental investments to expand our system as activity in this emerging play increases.”

Because of the proximity of Enterprise infrastructure in the South Texas play, only “modest” capital expenditures will be needed for the partnership to begin providing the transportation and processing services required under the agreement, said Creel. No additional financial details were provided.

Expansion projects at two of Enterprise’s seven South Texas processing plants were completed early this year, which increased total processing capacity of the facilities to more than 1.5 Bcf/d. Besides its processing facilities, Enterprise’s South Texas assets include more than 8,000 miles of gas gathering and transportation pipelines.

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