CRUDE SUPPLY EXPANSION ON TAP FOR U.S. MIDWEST

More crude oil pipeline capacity is at hand for the U.S. Midwest. Trunkline Gas Co. and four oil companies are studying the feasibility of converting one of Trunkline's three parallel natural gas pipelines in the Midwest to crude oil service. Meantime, Mobil Oil Corp. is scheduled this week to begin shipping the first cargo of crude oil through its newly reversed, 20 in., 200,000 b/d crude oil pipeline from Nederland, Tex., to Patoka, Ill. (OGJ, July 25, 1994, p. 46).

May 1, 1995

2 min read

More crude oil pipeline capacity is at hand for the U.S. Midwest.

Trunkline Gas Co. and four oil companies are studying the feasibility of converting one of Trunkline's three parallel natural gas pipelines in the Midwest to crude oil service.

Meantime, Mobil Oil Corp. is scheduled this week to begin shipping the first cargo of crude oil through its newly reversed, 20 in., 200,000 b/d crude oil pipeline from Nederland, Tex., to Patoka, Ill. (OGJ, July 25, 1994, p. 46).

TRUNKLINE CONVERSION

Involved in the possible Trunkline conversion, in addition to the Panhandle Eastern Corp. subsidiary, are Amoco Pipeline Co., Koch Refining Co., Marathon Oil Co., and Shell Pipe Line Corp.

They will evaluate the economic feasibility of converting Trunkline's 26 in. natural gas pipeline to transport crude oil 680 miles from the Lake Charles, La., area to a point near Patoka, a major crude oil distribution point for Midwest refineries.

Amoco, Koch, Marathon, and Shell each has a refinery served from Patoka.

"A growing shortage of crude oil deliverability to the Midwest is forecast, while natural gas pipeline capacity serving the area has been underutilized for a number of years," Trunkline Pres. L.B. Gatewood said of the proposal's rationale.

In addition to converting the gas pipeline, the group is considering receipt and delivery area storage facilities that could include using part of the Trunkline LNG Co. site near Lake Charles.

In a related action, Trunkline disclosed an open season May 11-June 12 for long term firm capacity on its natural gas transmission system.

MOBIL SHIPMENT

The first cargo of crude oil to be shipped on Mobil's Nederland-Patoka pipeline arrived at the Sun Co. marine terminal in Nederland, origin for the system's waterborne cargoes.

The new system can ship crude to Ringgold, Tex., as well as to Patoka, with access to other locations from those points.

The pipeline provides an alternative for shippers moving crude into Midwest markets where capacity on other lines sometimes has been prorated. The new system can handle batches of sweet, sour, and heavy crudes.

The Sun terminal has almost 10 million bbl of crude storage capacity and can accommodate vessels of as much as 130,000 dwt.

The project was completed 7 months ahead of its original schedule in time for the historically higher demand summer season.