Oilprice.com:  The Pipeline Lifeline For Texas Oil

Good update on pipeline and storage capacity.

Record exports in recent weeks were supported by higher inbound flows via new pipeline capacity. Plains’ Cactus II pipeline and EPIC’s NGL pipeline, which is temporarily in crude service, commenced operations in August. Both lines deliver barrels to the Corpus Christi area from West Texas, alleviating a bottleneck in the Permian Basin and fueling substantial growth in exports from the coast.

We began monitoring Cactus II pipeline flows in September as part of the Gulf Coast Pipeline service. Volumes on the line averaged 361,000 bpd in September and reached an average of 472,000 bpd for the week ending October 4. We are currently assessing monitoring feasibility of the EPIC NGL pipeline, as well as nearly-completed pipeline projects which will bring more crude into the region from West Texas.

Phillips 66’s 900,000 bpd Gray Oak pipeline, which will also transport crude from West Texas to the Corpus Christi area, is expected online in Q4 2019, according to an August Phillips 66 investor presentation. Gray Oak and other expected capacity increases could further facilitate higher export volumes from the Texas Gulf Coast as additional Permian supply gains access to waterborne transit.