Enbridge Inc. is providing up new area on a crude pipeline operating to the Texas oil port of Corpus Christi, a high exporting hub that’s presently affected by constrained pipeline capability.
The Canadian firm is asking shippers to decide to an enlargement that may add as a lot as 120,000 barrels a day of capability on the 900,000-barrel-a-day Grey Oak pipeline. The conduit transports crude from West Texas to the Corpus Christi and Freeport areas in Texas.
An enlargement of Grey Oak would assist alleviate the backlog at Corpus Christi, the place feeder pipelines — which additionally embody EPIC and Plains All American’s Cactus — are working at full capability. The state of affairs has compelled exporters to show to different Texas ports round Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur and Nederland.
- Advertisement -
Corpus Christi is the place nearly all of probably the most economical supertanker-loading capability is positioned. For cargoes crusing to Europe, transport oil in Very Massive Crude Carriers prices about $2.28 per barrel, in contrast with $3.90 for smaller Aframax-size tankers, based on Bloomberg calculations.
The Grey Oak enlargement doesn’t contain new building. Calgary-based Enbridge has mentioned up to now it plans to make use of chemical substances generally known as drag-reducing brokers, which scale back friction and permit oil to move quicker contained in the metal vessels. Grey Oak is operated by Enbridge, and Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum are companions.
US crude exports have surged, rising to 4.7 million barrels a day in February, the second-highest on file in US Power Division month-to-month knowledge.
