OREANDA-NEWS. Enterprise Products Partners expects to concentrate on organic growth projects within its $2.5-2.8bn 2016 budget for growth capital projects while limiting acquisitions, the Houston-based company said today.

"In this market, you need to be very deliberate. The distress caused by this cycle may provide some opportunities, but we're going to be pretty deliberate as we go through and take a look at them," Enterprise president Randy Fowler said on the company's earnings call Thursday.

Enterprise reported fourth quarter profit of $693.5mn, up 1.9pc from last year, and distributable cash flow of $1.089bn, up 2.4pc from the fourth quarter of 2014.

In its NGL pipelines and services segment, a $37mn decline in gross operating margins from gas processing was offset by a $12mn increase in NGL marketing, led by greater LPG exports. Enterprise saw its equity NGL production increase 63pc to 147,000 b/d due to greater ethane recovery in south Texas and the Rockies.

In the fourth quarter Enterprise completed the expansion of its LPG export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel. While the arbitrage between the US and other regions narrowed considerably in January, Enterprise chief executive Jim Teague said US exports will remain strong regardless of overseas markets.

"To a point, it's got to price to export, but also I think there are contracts we have that are not spread sensitive, they're source sensitive," Teague said.

Enterprise's 240,000 b/d ethane export facility on the Houston Ship Channel near Morgan's Point, Texas, is on track to begin operations in the third quarter; 180,000 b/d of that capacity is already committed under term contracts.

In the petrochemical sector, Enterprise reported a gross operating margin of $44mn for its propylene business, down from $71mn during the fourth quarter of 2014 due to lower sales margins and volumes. Propylene fractionated volumes fell to 71,000 b/d during the quarter from 81,000 b/d in the same quarter during 2014.