Genesis to expand CHOPS GoM crude pipeline, build new 105-mile system

May 10, 2022
Genesis Energy LP plans to invest about $500 million over the next 3 years to expand its pipeline system and build a new pipeline in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Genesis Energy LP plans to invest about $500 million over the next 3 years to expand its pipeline system and build a new pipeline in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The company plans to expand capacity of its 600,000-b/d Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS) and build a new 105-mile pipeline, known as SYNC.

SYNC will connect the Walker Ridge area of the GoM directly to CHOPS, the Garden Bank 72 platform in Beacon Offshore Energy (BOE) LLC’s Shenandoah development serving as the anchored production site. Shenandoah is in Walker Ridge Blocks 51, 52, and 53 and Genesis expects first deliveries of about 100,000 b/d in late 2024 or early 2025. The second upstream development to be served by SYNC, Salamanca, is operated by LLOG Exploration Co. LLC across multiple blocks in the deepwater area of Keathley Canyon, with first deliveries of oil anticipated in early to mid-2025.

Genesis says it is also in early talks with undisclosed operators to transport incremental production of nearly 150,000 b/d. These operators would consider accessing a portion of capacity from the company’s new pipeline, effective as early as 2024.

Extending along the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico, the 380-mile CHOPS pipeline delivers crude oil from deepwater oil fields to markets on the Texas Gulf Coast.