Enterprise

An expansion of Seaway Crude Oil Pipeline is nearing completion and will increase capacity from about 150,000 b/d to about 400,000 b/d, said Seaway Crude Oil Pipeline LLC, a joint venture of Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge Inc. Seaway suspended service on its 500-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline to complete the remaining pump station connections. Service is expected to resume by Jan. 11. In addition to the pipeline that transports crude oil from Cushing, OK, to the Gulf Coast, the Seaway system is composed of a terminal and distribution network originating in Texas City, TX, which serves refineries locally and in the Houston area. The Seaway system also includes dock facilities at Freeport and Texas City. Further expansion of the system is planned to be completed in 2014 (see Shale Daily, March 28, 2012).

DCP Midstream LLC and DCP Midstream Partners LP said they are constructing the Goliad cryogenic gas processing plant to serve liquids-rich production from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. The plant will have capacity of 200 MMcf/d and will become part of the DCP Eagle Ford system providing Eagle Ford producers one-stop service from the plant tailgate to Gulf Coast market centers, the partners said. The plant will be constructed and funded by the previously announced DCP Eagle Ford Joint Venture formed Nov. 1, which is owned two-thirds by DCP Midstream and one-third by DCP Midstream Partners. It is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2014. The plant will be the seventh in South Texas owned by the DCP enterprise.

Teak Midstream LLC’s 200 MMcf/d Silver Oak cryogenic gas processing plant is now online in South Texas, along with 250 miles of gathering and residue delivery pipelines, the company said Tuesday.

Typical well performance as well as peak-month production of the Eagle Ford Shale’s best wells exceeds those for wells drilled in the Bakken Shale, which is often considered the tight oil standard, according to the “IHS Herold Eagle Ford Regional Play Assessment.”

Shale and liquids-rich production will be the primary focus for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. this year, with dry natural gas efforts receiving less than 10% of its 2012 exploration and production budget, the Houston-based company said Tuesday.

Calgary’s Pembina Pipeline Corp. and Provident Energy Ltd. agreed Monday to merge in a C$3.2 billion ($3.1 billion) transaction that would create a Canadian giant with oil and natural gas pipelines to transport crude and natural gas liquids (NGL), midstream gas processing and an energy marketing arm.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPP) and Enbridge Inc. will hold concurrent open seasons Jan. 4-Feb. 10 to solicit capacity commitments from shippers for an expansion of their Seaway crude oil pipeline and an extension of the pipeline into the Port Arthur/Beaumont refining market in southeast Texas, the companies said.

Enterprise Products Partners LP unit Texas Express Pipeline LLC is holding a binding open commitment period through Nov. 9 for capacity on a proposed natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline. Texas Express would originate in Skellytown, TX, in Carson County and extend 580 miles to NGL fractionation and storage facilities in Mont Belvieu, TX. The project is part of a joint venture that includes Enbridge Energy Partners LP and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (see Daily GPI, Sept. 7). Initial capacity would be 280,000 b/d; the pipeline is expected to begin service in 2Q2013. For information contact Buford Barr at (713) 381-8354, or bbarr@eprod.com; or Bryan McFarland at (713) 381-2468, or bmcfarland@eprod.com.

Williams on Thursday offered to acquire Southern Union Co. for $44/share in cash for a total enterprise bid of $9.4 billion — a deal that is 10% above the $40/share purchase price offered by Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) earlier this month and 56% more than Southern Union’s closing price on June 15, the last trading day before ETE launched its takeover (see Daily GPI, July 6; June 17).