A crude oil pipeline connecting oilfields in the Permian Basin with exporters along the Gulf Coast opened for service last month, shipping oil across Texas and bumping up the nation’s supply.
According to the Carlsbad Current Argus, oil company EPIC Crude Holdings announced the 30-inch crude oil pipeline was complete on Feb. 26 and is expected to go into full online-service by April.
The pipe stretches from Orla, Texas and makes its way across the Delaware, Midland and Eagle Ford basins to the Port of Corpus Christi where the oil is shipped to markets.
Storage capacity along the pipeline is expected to grow to approximately 5.4 million barrels by next month and construction improvements will eventually result in another 2.1 million barrels of storage for a total of 7.5 million barrels.
“EPIC’s ability to provide crude oil transport out of the Permian Basin and into the Corpus Christi market highlights the strategic value of our assets,” EPIC Chief Executive Officer Phillip Mezey told the Current Argus. “I would like to thank our employees, customers and contractors who have enabled us to provide this vital service and I also want to commend those who worked on the line over the past eight months for their attention to and focus on safety.”
The Current Argus report said because of high demand, EPIC was temporarily using a 24-inch natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline to ship crude starting in August 2019.
The NGL gas line can handle 400,000 barrels of oil per day, but will eventually be cleaned and used to handle natural gas, company officials said.
“Providing interim service adds much-needed takeaway capacity in the Permian Basin, which supports continued development and highlights the strategic value of our assets,” Mezey said.
The Current Argus report added that U.S. oil production broke a record last year, about 12.2 million barrels of oil per day in 2019, an 11 percent increase from 10.9 million in 2018. The data comes from the federal Energy Information Administration.