HOUSTON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- American natural gas and oil pipeline comany Enterprise Products Partners announced Wednesday it plans to build a seaport terminal to export ethylene.
The proposed ethylene export terminal would be constructed at Houston-based Enterprise's Morgan's Point complex in a joint venture with the Britain's Navigator Gas to take advantage of all the new ethylene production coming online this year in the Houston region, Houston Chronicle reported.
The ethylene surge is the result of the ongoing shale boom producing much more natural gas liquids, including ethane, which is used to create ethylene.
Companies like Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemical and Chevron Phillips Chemical are all planned to complete major ethylene and polyethylene plastics expansions this year in the Houston area, according to the report.
"The proposed ethylene export terminal would provide U.S. petrochemical companies critical market diversification rather than relying solely on polyethylene export markets," the report quoted Enterprise CEO Jim Teague as said in an announcement.
Enterprise has evolved into the country's biggest exporter of goods related to natural gas liquids. In the fall, Enterprise finished building the world's largest ethane export terminal along the Houston Ship Channel, the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico.
Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners is a member of the Fortune 500 and its assets has mounted to 52 billion U.S. dollars at the end of last year, according to its website.
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