US oil supply: Expanded Seaway line starts pumping
Pipeline had been shut since Jan 2 to prepare for shipping higher volumes from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Freeport, Texas.
HOUSTON:
The Seaway oil pipeline, newly expanded to carry up to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), began pumping crude on Friday from an over-supplied US Midwest region to the Gulf Coast, in a start-up that could heavily impact global oil prices. The 500-mile (805 kilometres) pipeline, a joint venture between Enterprise Product Partners and Enbridge Inc, had been shut since January 2 to prepare for shipping higher volumes from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Freeport, Texas. Seaway’s expansion has been widely anticipated by oil traders. Seaway’s owners plan to expand the line further, to 850,000 bpd, by early 2014. The completion of Seaway’s most recent expansion had an immediate impact in oil markets on Friday. The price spread between US crude futures, or West Texas Intermediate delivered at Cushing, and London-traded Brent crude futures, narrowed to less than $17 a barrel for the first time since September.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2013.
Like Business on Facebook to stay informed and join in the conversation.
The Seaway oil pipeline, newly expanded to carry up to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), began pumping crude on Friday from an over-supplied US Midwest region to the Gulf Coast, in a start-up that could heavily impact global oil prices. The 500-mile (805 kilometres) pipeline, a joint venture between Enterprise Product Partners and Enbridge Inc, had been shut since January 2 to prepare for shipping higher volumes from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Freeport, Texas. Seaway’s expansion has been widely anticipated by oil traders. Seaway’s owners plan to expand the line further, to 850,000 bpd, by early 2014. The completion of Seaway’s most recent expansion had an immediate impact in oil markets on Friday. The price spread between US crude futures, or West Texas Intermediate delivered at Cushing, and London-traded Brent crude futures, narrowed to less than $17 a barrel for the first time since September.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2013.
Like Business on Facebook to stay informed and join in the conversation.