Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Western Gas Partners, LP and DCP Midstream, LP announced a binding open season for additional capacity on the Front Range Pipeline, which transports mixed natural gas liquids (“NGL”) from the Denver-Julesburg (“DJ”) Basin in Weld County, Colorado to Skellytown, Texas in Carson County. Subject to customer commitments during the open season, the partners expect to expand Front Range by 100,000 barrels per day (“BPD”) to a total capacity of approximately 250,000 BPD. Enterprise will be responsible for constructing the expansion, which will consist of additional pump stations along the 435-mile route. Service on the expanded Front Range pipeline is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019.
The expansion of Front Range is designed to facilitate growing production of NGLs from the DJ Basin, which is expected to increase by approximately 40 percent over the next four years as development of oil and natural gas, made possible by the shale revolution, continues. In addition, an incremental 800 million cubic feet per day of natural gas processing capacity is expected to come online by the end of 2019.
Complementing the Front Range expansion is a proposed increase in capacity on the 583-mile Texas Express pipeline that originates in Skellytown, Texas and runs to the NGL fractionation and storage complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas. An expanded Front Range system, which links to the Texas Express pipeline, is a critical component of an integrated solution that provides DJ producers with flow assurance and greater access to the Gulf Coast market.
The Binding Open Season Commitment Period will begin May 4, 2018 at noon CDT and continue until 5 p.m. CDT June 4, 2018.