Plains to build new Eagle Ford NGL fractionator

Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) will construct a new natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator and is expanding its existing condensate stabilization facility in the Eagle Ford area of South Texas, the company announced this week.

The new fractionator is supported by long-term third-party commitments and will have a capacity of up to 15,000 bpd of NGL Y-Grade and off-spec Y-Grade product. 

The new fractionator, condensate stabilization expansion and related infrastructure enhancements are expected to require a total investment of approximately $120 million and are expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2015.

The fractionator will be located near existing PAA assets in Gardendale (La Salle County), including its condensate stabilization facility and rail and truck loading/unloading facilities. The facility is designed to fractionate NGL Y-Grade and to treat and fractionate off-spec Y-Grade sourced from PAA's South Texas Gathering System and throughout the Eagle Ford producing region. 

Purity products expected to be produced include international refrigerant specification grade LE propane, EPA non-commercial grade butane and international specification natural gasoline. These products can be transported from PAA's adjacent rail and truck loading facilities, providing access to premium markets for each purity product.

PAA's existing Gardendale truck and rail infrastructure are being enhanced to facilitate loading, unloading and transporting Y-Grade and purity products, and PAA will build approximately 80,000 bbl of pressurized storage to accommodate Y-Grade and purity products. 

PAA is also adding a third condensate stabilization train that will provide approximately 40,000 bpd of incremental capacity to the existing condensate stabilization facility, bringing the total capacity to approximately 120,000 bpd.