The world has seen the global energy market shifting away from oil and coal production towards the transitional properties of the gas sector in recent months amid calls by the international community to gradually phase out the reliance on coal and oil in favor of energy resources that are not as harmful to the environment. With the astonishing growth of the US gas market in recent months, Enterprise Products Partners and ExxonMobil are set to boost the Bahia NGL pipeline capacity to incredible levels in the near future.
Enterprise teams up with energy giant ExxonMobil to boost Bahia NGL capacity
The US gas sector has been on an upward trajectory in recent months as it sees a litany of new customers turning to the US to fill the energy gap left by Russia following the wave of new sanctions on Russian energy companies, effectively ending the grip that Russia had on the global energy market. To increase pipeline capacity in the US gas sector, new partnerships will be needed between some of the largest operators in the region.
Enterprise has revealed that it has agreed in principle for ExxonMobil to acquire a 40-percent undivided joint interest in the Bahia natural gas liquids pipeline, setting the stage for a new era of gas production and transportation in the US. Naturally, the deal is subject to regulatory approval from the relevant authorities before anything happens.
The Bahia natural gas pipeline is set to reshape regional gas production
The astonishing 550-mile Bahia pipeline has already gotten off the ground and has been in the commissioning phase, with operations expected to start in the near future. The project was slated to have an initial capacity to transport 600,000 barrels per day of natural gas from the Midland and Delaware basins of West Texas to Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu fractionation complex.
The new expansion of the Bahia pipeline is expected to increase capacity substantially
By bringing on ExxonMobil, Enterprise expects to increase the transport capacity of the Bahia pipeline to reach astonishing levels over the coming months. The new expansion plan calls for Enterprise and ExxonMobil to increase the capacity of the pipeline to approximately 1 million BPD by adding incremental pumping capacity and constructing a 92-mile extension of the existing pipeline to ExxonMobil’s Cowboy natural gas processing plant in Eddy County, New Mexico.
Notably, the extension will also have several stops at Enterprise’s processing facilities in the Delaware Basin. With the expansion plan and new processing capacity extension expected to be completed by 2027, Enterprise will serve as the operator of the combined system. The announcement of the expansion of the Bahia pipeline comes as other American pipelines are set for expansions, marking a new future for the US gas sector.
“We are pleased to partner with ExxonMobil on the Bahia NGL pipeline. As the ratio of natural gas and NGL production to crude oil production continues to increase in the Permian, the Bahia pipeline will be an essential artery to deliver mixed NGLs to the fractionation complex in Mont Belvieu. From 2024 to 2030, NGL production in the Permian Basin is expected to increase by over 30 percent. This expansion supports this growth by providing critical takeaway capacity for the basin.” – A.J. “Jim” Teague, co-chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner
The US gas market has seen essential new pipelines being constructed and planned
Enterprise and ExxonMobil are not the first companies to plan critical expansions of pipelines in the US gas market. Targa Resources recently unveiled its plans to construct a new 500-mile ‘Speedway’ gas and NGL pipeline that will boost capacity in the Permian basin. The US is living up to the promises made by the current President Donald Trump to increase oil and gas production amid calls by the international energy community to diversify the global energy portfolio. The project will benefit from both Enterprise and ExxonMobil’s vast expertise in the sector.
