zoomImage Courtesy: Navigator Holdings

US-based Enterprise Products Partners and ship owner and operator Navigator Holdings have executed a letter of intent to jointly develop an ethylene marine export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel.

The parties informed that Enterprise would manage the construction, operations and commercial activities of the proposed terminal, which would be located at Morgan’s Point complex. The facility has a 45-foot draft and includes an ethane marine export terminal.

The terminal would be connected to Enterprise’s ethylene salt dome storage and ethylene pipeline system, which is currently under construction. The storage facility will have around 600 million pounds of capacity with an injection/withdrawal rate of 210,000 pounds per hour expandable to 420,000 pounds per hour.

“We are very pleased to work with Navigator Gas in efforts to commercialize an industry leading ethylene marine export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel with unsurpassed connectivity to ethylene producers and pipeline and storage infrastructure,” A.J. Teague, chief executive officer of the general partner of Enterprise, said.

“Customers would have the ability to manage the transportation and storage of ethylene supplies from the tailgate of producing facilities to domestic and international consuming derivative plants. The proposed ethylene export terminal would provide U.S. petrochemical companies critical market diversification rather than relying solely on polyethylene export markets,” Teague added.

Formation of the 50/50 joint venture to build, own and operate the ethylene marine export terminal is subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements and approval by the respective boards of directors of Enterprise and Navigator Holdings. The commercialization of the project is subject to sufficient long-term customer commitments.