Enterprise acquires isobutylene facility


Energy services provider Enterprise Products Partners LP has bought a bankrupt 250-acre high-purity isobutylene (HPIB) plant  in Houston.

The Houston Ship Channel facility was previously owned by Bigler LP and was bought out of bankruptcy by Enterprise for $38.5m.  The facility also provides terminal services for refined products and petrochemicals, via ship, rail, road and pipeline.

The acquistion gives Enterprise a site with an annual HPIB production capacity of 300mlbs, much of which is already under contract.  HPIB is used in the manufacturing process for tyres, lubricants and other petroleum-based product.

The plant is only one year old and includes pressurized storage facilities for HPIB and butane, plus some 450,000 barrels of other refined products, with direct access from the Houston Ship Channel.

Enterprise already had connections with the plant, providing raw materials from its nearby Mont Belvieu facility.  The scale of the Ship Channel site will allow further expansion in the future if required.