Can You Take Me Higher

March Commerce Club Featuring Tony Chovanec, EVP Fundamentals, Enterprise Products Partners

“We don’t forecast; we look at how we think,” said Tony Chovanec, EVP-Fundamentals of Enterprise Products Partners (“Enterprise Products”) as he began his “Can You Take Me Highter” presentation at the Port Bureau’s March Commerce Club. “What I am going to show you today are [our] views.”

Global Energy Demand

In his discussion, Chovanec stressed the value of hydrocarbons and energy to the welfare of society globally, noting the role in petrochemicals in such areas as pharmaceuticals. Significant products such as top prescription drugs, including Lipitor, Glucophage, and Lopressor, and OTC drugs, including Tylenol, Advil, and Zyrtec are manufactured from benzene, propylene, ethylene or a combination of these petrochemicals.

Noting that fossil fuel usage is forecasted to increase, particularly as world population grows and economies develop, Chovanec showed the growth estimated in charts through 2050 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”), OPEC, and the International Energy Agency (“IEA”).   He indicated global growth - specifically oil, gas and coal - will further the necessity for more energy as the world population grows and economies develop. The IEA chart shows that coal usage, however, will decline. 

U.S. Exports

Chovanec reviewed how the U.S. transitioned from a net importer to net exporter of liquid hydrocarbons as a result of the “shale revolution”, highlighting phenomenal growth from 2010 through 2017. In the three-year time period between 2022 through 2023, U.S. waterborne exports increased 40%. He noted that the U.S. is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”). Reviewing the various products exported, Chovanec pointed out that the U.S. was not only the largest exporter of LNG, but the country is also the leading exporter of liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) globally. The U.S. held 44% of the global waterborne LPG exports in 2023. Enterprise Products is the largest individual, independent supplier of LPG in the world, representing 14% of total global exports and one-third of U.S. LPG exports. 

Company Update

Enterprise Products has $6.8 billion of approved major projects under construction. These include several natural gas liquids plants in the Midland and Delaware basins, the Neches River ethane/propane export terminal, and more. At the Enterprise Hydrocarbons Terminal (“EHT”), the company currently has eight deepwater ship docks and one barge dock, with multi-product dock flexibility and the ability to co-load propane and propylene, located on the Houston Ship Channel. Chovanec indicated that upon completion of Project 11 (the deepening and widening of the Houston Ship Channel), vessel transits could increase as much as 12%-15%.

Summing up his thoughts, Chovanec closed the presentation by expressing that improvements and advancements come to countless people from the work of the energy/port community. “I named my talk today ‘Can You Take Me Higher’, not necessarily because of exports, but because of the [lyrics] saying ‘can you take me higher to a place where blind men see … to a place with golden streets’. Hundreds of millions of people, without doubt, benefit every day from what you all do. That's reality, and that's why we are so passionate.”