By Arathy Somasekhar and Georgina McCartney

HOUSTON, June 4 (Reuters) - Enterprise Products Partners ( EPD )

said on Wednesday it received notice that the U.S.

Commerce Department intends to deny its requests to export three

proposed cargoes of ethane, totaling around 2.2 million barrels,

to China.

The U.S. and China are locked in an ongoing trade war after

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in early

April.

Pipeline and terminal operator Enterprise said last week

that its ethane and butane exports could be hurt by a Department

of Commerce requirement that it apply for a license to export to

China. The company is one of the top U.S. handlers of ethane and

butane through its port terminals.

The Bureau of Industry and Security, an agency of the

Department of Commerce, informed Enterprise in a letter two

weeks ago that exports of ethane and butane pose an unacceptable

risk of military end-use in China, according to a company

filing.

Enterprise said it has up to twenty days to respond to

the BIS's notice about the denied export cargoes with any

comments or rebuttals. Unless the company is advised otherwise

by the BIS by the 45th day after the original notification, the

denials will become final.

The BIS did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

The U.S. last week ordered a broad swathe of companies to

stop shipping goods, including ethane and butane, to China

without a license and revoked licenses already granted to

certain suppliers.

Ethane and butane, liquids separated from natural gas, are

used to make plastics and chemicals and also for heating and

cooking.

Chinese petrochemical firms use ethane as a feedstock

because it is a cheaper alternative than naphtha, while U.S. oil

and gas producers need China to buy their natural gas liquids as

domestic supply exceeds demand.