The commitment period, which now concludes on 29 July 2011, is intended to give interested shippers the time they need to obtain final internal approvals and complete the required transportation services agreement.
The Double E Pipeline will provide up to 450,000 barrels per day of takeaway capacity for crude oil currently stranded at the Cushing storage hub because of a lack of southbound pipeline infrastructure, the companies said.
The project will be developed as a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Enterprise and Energy Transfer.
To promote operational efficiency, the JV partners will also construct and own about 500,000 barrels of crude oil storage capacity at Enterprise’s ECHO terminal in southeast Harris County in the US state of Texas.
The Double E Pipeline is expected to start service in the fourth quarter of 2012, subject to sufficient customer commitments and required approvals.
