Posted on 11/08/2013 5:22:21 AM PST by thackney
Energy Transfer Partners and Trafigura Beheer BV announced plans for a new 82-mile crude oil and condensate pipeline from the Eagle Ford to Corpus Christi, the company said Thursday.
The two companies signed an agreement for the pipeline, which will extend from McMullen County to the Gulf Coast and will include converting already existing natural gas pipelines owned by Energy Transfer.
The pipeline will be able to transport about 100,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day and will be operational within 12 months, the companies said.
It will provide access for Eagle Ford crude to Trafigura’s deep-water terminal in Corpus Christi, relieving some of the bottlenecks that increased production in the South Texas shale created.
Trafigura is also building a second deep-water dock, to provide additional capacity for tankers and barges docking at its facilities, as exports from the Gulf Coast continue to grow. The new dock is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2014, the company said.
“Combining Energy Transfer’s pipeline assets with Trafigura’s facilities in Corpus Christi is an extremely efficient solution for Eagle Ford shale producers,” said Lee Hanse, Executive Vice President of Business Development for Energy Transfer Partners, in a written statement. “The repurposing of the existing natural gas pipeline also makes this a very timely solution for the growing supplies of crude oil and condensate in the area.”
A little more detail in Trafigura announcement:
Agreement underscores Trafigura AG’s pivotal role in bringing Eagle Ford product to market
http://www.trafigura.com/media-centre/latest-news/trafigura-ag-signs-south-texas-pipeline-agreement/#.UnzmM_mshcY
Trafigura AG, a leader in international commodities trading and logistics today announced it has signed a pipeline agreement with Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP) for crude oil and condensate transportation capacity. The 82-mile pipeline system from McMullen County to Corpus Christi will include the conversion of existing Energy Transfer natural gas pipelines to liquids service and have the capacity to transport approximately 100,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day. The South Texas pipeline system is expected to be operational in the next nine to 12 months.
“This pipeline combined with our deep-water terminal enables Trafigura to offer a complete solution to producers who seek to take Eagle Ford to the broader market,” said Jeff Kopp, Trafigura’s Director of Oil for North America. “This is another example of how we are continuing to expand our investment in Corpus Christi to provide producers with the maximum amount of flexibility,” added Kopp.
“Combining Energy Transfer’s pipeline assets with Trafigura’s facilities in Corpus Christi is an extremely efficient solution for Eagle Ford shale producers,” said Lee Hanse, Executive Vice President of Business Development for Energy Transfer Partners. “The repurposing of the existing natural gas pipeline also makes this a very timely solution for the growing supplies of crude oil and condensate in the area. Building upon over USD2 billion of infrastructure that we have already constructed to benefit Eagle Ford shale producers, we are continuing to advance additional gathering opportunities with producers to tie volume into this system, further enhancing logistics in the field.”
To complement the existing multi-modal transportation system capabilities of its Corpus Christi terminal, Trafigura is building a second deep-water dock with an overall length of 850 feet and a 45 foot draft which will also be capable of loading an Aframax vessel. This second dock when combined with existing facilities, would allow Trafigura to berth three medium range tankers and two inland barges at the same time. Moreover, the new deep-water dock will result in increased capacity for the terminal and hence higher commercial activity for the Port of Corpus Christi. Construction on the new dock is currently underway and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2014.
Exports?
Not while the closest ports are US ports still importing from overseas.
That is why they are not building docks for supertankers. Just barges and smaller range tankers.
So the “exports” are just to ship the crude up the coast to the refineries and then into the distribution system?
I suspect some go up the river systems as well. Intercoastal to the Mississippi connects to a lot of US places. But there is a lot of demand just on the Gulf Coast.
If you look at the following link, you can see our US exports of crude oil remain rather insignificant.
Weekly U.S. Exports of Crude Oil
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WCREXUS2&f=W
At this link, you can see essentially all of it goes to Canada. A case of the closest refinery and/or pipeline.
US Crude Oil Exports by Destination
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_expc_a_EPC0_EEX_mbblpd_m.htm
So wha-does-it -all mean?
The Eagle Ford shale field is producing more light oil than is used locally. They are shipping more of it to other US refineries.
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