Major Fire at Enterprise Products Plant in Texas Disrupts Operations and Construction

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A major fire that began mid-day yesterday at a storage facility owned by Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE:EPD) (Houston, Texas) has disrupted operations for the neighboring propylene splitters and iso-octane units at the site in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The fire raged through most of the afternoon on Tuesday and continued to burn through the night, as plant officials decided to let pipelines, presumably carrying butane and propane, burn themselves out over time.

The event has suspended operations of the neighboring propylene splitters and iso-octane production units. Based on project activity previously reported by Industrial Info as part of its North American Project Database, a planned maintenance turnaround for the plant's iso-octane unit, expected to last three to four weeks, should have been in progress at the time of the explosion.

Construction on the addition of a fifth natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation train had previously been planned to begin construction by March. It is unknown at this moment how this fire will impact construction plans or what kind of delay it might create for the project.

Enterprise is a significant supplier of feedstock required by dozens of petrochemical producers along the Gulf Coast via pipeline. The level of damage to onsite caverns and infrastructure could significantly influence operating rates of neighboring chemical plants, potentially for an extended period of time.

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