A bird’s-eye view of an NGL fractionation plant in Robstown near Corpus Christi. EPIC Midstream just completed a new fractionator on the site, which went into operation on Aug. 5. Courtesy photo
The EPIC pipeline will soon have an already functioning processing destination near Corpus Christi. EPIC Midstream Holdings LP recently announced the purchase of the Robstown Natural Gas Liquefication fractionation facility from Southcross Energy Partners LP, a Southcross Holdings affiliate. EPIC Midstream is a subsidiary of EPIC Y-Grade Holdings LLP.
The sale includes a 57-mile pipeline that currently delivers natural gas from various pipelines coming into the Corpus Christi area. EPIC is also in the process of building two massive pipelines that will connect the Permian Basin to Corpus Christi.The crude oil and natural gas pipelines will stretch from Orla to Robstown to Houston.
The company was recently granted permission to increase the size of the pipelines to 30 inches from 24 inches due to an increase in demand for product. The lack of pipeline infrastructure from the Permian Basin oil and gas fields to refineries and fractionators on the Gulf Coast has caused a bottleneck in West Texas, according to experts.
Purchasing the Robstown plant allows EPIC to immediately begin moving and processing liquid natural gas through the Sand Hills Pipeline. The plant has a current capacity of 64,000 barrels per day and is expanding to increase its capacity to 68,000 barrels per day.
“This acquisition will further expand EPIC’s NGL infrastructure asset base while allowing EPIC to immediately serve the rapidly developing Corpus Christi market,” said Nate Walton, partner and co-head of North American Private Equity at Ares Management LP (NYSE: ARES).
The sale is expected to be approved by regulators and closed sometime in November.
Both an additional plant expansion and construction of the EPIC pipelines are expected to be complete and in operation by January 2020.
EPIC was formed in 2017 to build, own, and operate midstream infrastructure in both the Permian and Eagle Ford basins. EPIC’s first two projects, the EPIC Crude Oil Pipeline and the EPIC NGL Pipeline, will transport crude and liquid natural gas across Texas for delivery into the Corpus Christi market.
