SAN ANTONIO—EPIC Y-Grade LP announced Aug. 5 that a subsidiary has fully commissioned and placed into service its first 110,000 barrel per day (bbl/d) greenfield fractionator at its Robstown, Texas, fractionation complex. EPIC’s total nameplate fractionation capacity is 180,000 bbl/d, which services Corpus Christi, Texas, and other Texas Gulf Coast markets.

Additionally, the company has completed a strategic transaction with MPLX and WhiteWater Midstream, including the sale of an undivided joint interest in the EPIC Y-grade pipeline from Benedum to Gardendale, as well as transportation agreements on certain other segments from Orla, Texas, to Sweeny, Texas.

Proceeds from the transaction will be reinvested into the company. To make NGL deliveries to Sweeny, EPIC will extend its existing long-haul 12-in ethane pipeline from Markham to Sweeny and convert the pipeline to NGL service by third-quarter 2021. EPIC’s Corpus Christi fractionation complex will have direct Y-grade, ethane and propane connections with the Sweeny fractionation complex. 

In conjunction with the transaction, the company has executed multi-year contracts with Phillips 66 for NGL and ethane storage, ethane transportation and fractionation capacity. These agreements provide added operational flexibility, new service offerings and diversified markets for EPIC shippers. EPIC’s total owned and controlled fractionation capacity is 220,000 bbl/d across the Texas Gulf Coast. 

“The commissioning of our first greenfield fractionator further demonstrates EPIC’s ability to deliver major projects safely and successfully,” said Phillip Mezey, CEO of EPIC. “The transaction provides producers and processors in the Permian Basin another Mt. Belvieu alternative—without the need for a new-build pipeline—while greatly enhancing the connectivity between the Corpus Christi and Sweeny NGL systems.”