MPLX expanding Permian NGL, natural gas takeaway
Belvieu Alternative NGL (BANGL) pipeline partners WhiteWater Midstream, MPLX LP (45%), and Rattler Midstream LP, have sanctioned its expansion to 300,000 b/d from 250,000 b/d. MPLX expects an initial expansion to 250,000 b/d (from BANGL’s original 125,000 b/d) to enter service by the end of first-quarter 2025 and the additional capacity to come online second-half 2026.
MPLX also recently announced a JV with ONEOK Inc. to build a 400,000 b/d LPG export terminal in Texas City, Tex. (OGJ Online, Feb. 4, 2025) and is building two 150,000-b/d fractionation plants adjacent to Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s 631,000-b/d Galveston Bay refinery. The 24-in. OD BANGL line currently runs from the Permian basin to Sweeny, Tex., but MPLX plans to extend it to serve the new fractionation and export capacity.
The company also continues to develop the 2.5-bcfd Blackcomb and 4.5-bcfd Rio Bravo natural gas pipelines, with expected in-service dates of second-half 2026. Blackcomb, operated by WhiteWater, will run from the Permian basin to the Agua Dulce hub in south Texas. Rio Bravo—part of a JV of WhiteWater, MPLX, and Enbridge Inc.—will carry gas from Agua Dulce to NextDecade Corp.’s planned 27-million tonne/year Rio Grande LNG plant in Brownsville, Tex. (OGJ Online, Mar. 26, 2024).
Christopher E. Smith | Editor in Chief
Christopher brings 27 years of experience in a variety of oil and gas industry analysis and reporting roles to his work as Editor-in-Chief, specializing for the last 15 of them in midstream and transportation sectors.