ONEOK, Inc. announced the completion of MB-6, a 125,000-barrel per day (bpd) natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and the full looping of the West Texas NGL Pipeline system….projects designed to replace a fractionator lost in a 2022 explosion and fire in northern Oklahoma.
The completion of MB-6 increases the company’s fractionation capacity to more than 1 million bpd, reducing the need for third-party fractionation and enhancing ONEOK’s ability to serve growing NGL market demand.
The original cost was estimated at $550 million and was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025. It will produce pure ethane rather than an ethane/propane mix and replaces the Medford, Oklahoma fractionator that exploded in July 2022. The MB-6 was funded in part by a $930 million insurance settlement for the Medford Explosion.
Completion of the full looping of the West Texas NGL Pipeline system expands the capacity to 515,000 bpd. Additional pump stations, which are expected to be completed in mid-2025, will further increase system capacity to 740,000 bpd.
“The completion of these important NGL projects demonstrates our dedication to meeting the needs of our customers by providing reliable midstream solutions,” said Pierce H. Norton II, ONEOK president and chief executive officer. “These strategic expansions provide critical NGL transportation and fractionation capacity, supporting NGL growth across our integrated operations.”
ONEOK has a more than 50,000-mile pipeline network to transport natural gas, natural gas liquids, refined products and crude oil.
