Energy Transfer Partners, a natural gas and propane company, has signed a deal with Trafigura Beheer BV, a Holland-based global commodity trading company, to launch a new crude and condensate pipeline running from the Eagle Ford shale formation in South Texas to Corpus Christi on the Gulf Coast. It is due to be completed in nine to 12 months.
The agreement also includes the conversation of existing pipelines operated by Energy Transfer in addition to constructing new sections of pipe altogether. The new pipeline is expected to be approximately 82 miles long and should be able to carry 100,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate daily. The project’s aim is for the crude oil extracted from the Eagle Ford shale to be easily and quickly transferred to Trafigura’s deep-water terminal located in Corpus Christi. Trafigura has plans to open a new deep-water dock to accommodate the increase of tankers and barges that will be transporting the Eagle Ford crude.
Lee Hanse, Energy Transfer Partners executive vice president of business development, has gone on record to state that joining with Trafigura’s deep-water facilities is a great opportunity for Eagle Ford drilling companies to move and export their crude oil production.