Enterprise Products Partners LP announced November 1 that a sixth natural-gas-liquids (NGL) fractionator at its complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas, is now operational.

Expected capacity of the unit is 85,000 barrels (bbl.) per day – boosting total fractionation capacity at Enterprise’s Mont Belvieu facility to 485,000 bbl. per day, the company said.

The sixth fractionator will facilitate the increasing NGL production from domestic shale plays, including the Eagle Ford and other basins in the Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent regions, according to the announcement.

Rising NGL production from the shale plays continues to provide a cost advantage for the U.S. petrochemical industry, which favors natural gas-derived feedstocks over imported crude oil-based derivatives, Enterprise also noted.

Supported by long-term contracts, the sixth fractionator will reduce the volumes Enterprise has been diverting to its Louisiana fractionators and accommodate incremental volumes from the Houston-based partnership’s new Yoakum natural-gas processing facility in Lavaca County, Texas.

The first two trains of the Yoakum facility have exceeded expectations and are processing 700 million cubic feet per day of inlet natural gas and extracting 90,000 bbl. per day of mixed NGLs, according to the company.

“We are very pleased with the addition of our newest fractionator and proud of the engineering, construction and operating groups who continue to complete these projects in a timely, safe and efficient manner,” Michael A. Creel, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner, was quoted as saying.

“This latest expansion of our Mont Belvieu infrastructure, which was completed on budget and ahead of schedule, offers shippers access to the largest NGL markets to maximize the value of their production and provides end users with reliable sources of domestic feedstock,” Creel added.

A.J. “Jim” Teague, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Enterprise’s general partner, added: “Production growth from domestic shale-play basins continues to impress and create growth opportunities for Enterprise.

“Fractionators seven and eight are already under construction at Mont Belvieu and are expected to increase total capacity at the facility to approximately 650,000 bbl. per day when completed in the fourth quarter of 2013,” Teague also noted. “At that time, our system-wide fractionation capacity is expected to exceed 1 million bbl. per day.”

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