The closing of the Houston Ship Channel is idling ships that carried a record amount of U.S. natural gas liquids exports last year, raising questions about the need for geographic diversity in the burgeoning market. Most U.S. capacity to export NGLs is on the channel, said Peter Fasullo, a principal at Houston-based energy consultant EnVantage Inc. The U.S. averaged 475,000 barrels a day of exports in 2013, up from 164,000 in 2010, according to Energy Information Administration data. Two companies, Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) and , have channel operations that combine to represent 380,000 barrels a day of export capacity, Fasullo said. “That’s all going to go offline,” Fasullo said. “Ships can’t get into the terminals to get loaded, and those that are loaded can’t get out.” There is no estimate on when the 52-mile (83-kilometer) channel will reopen, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Brian Penoyer said yesterday at […]