First LPG tanker docks at Enterprise Products Neches River terminal in Texas

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, July 23 (Reuters) - A liquefied petroleum gas tanker moored at the Enterprise Products Partners EPD.N terminal along the Neches river in Texas, ship tracking data showed on Wednesday, the first vessel to arrive for loading at the facility.

Energy research firm Vortexa said the mooring signaled the commissioning of the plant. Enterprise did not immediately reply to a request for a comment.

Enterprise, one of the top U.S. ethane producers and exporters, has been adding to its natural gas liquids business by building and expanding facilities to export ethane and propane to meet growing global demand.

The company announced in April plans to construct a new export facility, which could load either ethane or propane, located on the Neches River in Orange County, Texas.

Ethane and propane are byproducts of oil and gas production. Ethane is primarily used to make plastics, while propane is used for heating and cooking.

Phase 1 of Enterprise's Neches River project has a nameplate capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and will accommodate loading rates of up to 45,000 barrels per hour. It was expected to begin service in the second half of 2025.

Medium-sized gas tanker Navigator Eclipse entered the Enterprise Beaumont dock late on Tuesday and was moored on Wednesday, according to ship tracking data on LSEG and Kpler.

The vessel has only moved ethane between U.S. and China since May 2021, according to Kpler.

The vessel is likely to head to Satellite Chemical's 002648.SZ Lianyungang import terminal in China with the commissioning cargo, Vortexa's Samantha Hartke wrote in a note.

Satellite could not immediately be reached outside of office hours.

A company uses the commissioning stage to test and ensure all aspects of a plant are working before moving to commercial operations.

Phase 2 of the terminal, which will allow Enterprise to load up to 180,000 bpd of ethane and 360,000 bpd of propane, or a combination of the two, is expected to begin service in the first half of 2026.