Texas Flood: U.S. Oil Pours into Global Markets
United States taking share from OPEC nations in Asia, Europe, as China’s biggest U.S. crude buyer to double imports. In the two years since Washington lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports, tankers filled with U.S. crude have landed in more than 30 countries, ranging from massive economies like China and India to tiny Togo. The repeal has unleashed a flood of U.S. shale oil, undercutting global crude prices, eroding the clout of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and seizing market share from many of its member countries.
Phillips 66 Partners to buy Phillips 66 Assets
Phillips 66 Partners LP said on Friday it would buy assets from refiner Phillips 66 in a deal valued at $2.4 billion, including debt. Phillips 66 Partners said it would buy a 25 percent interest in each Dakota Access and Energy Transfer Crude Oil pipelines and a 100 percent interest in Merey Sweeny LP fuel-grade coke processing unit. Reporting by John Benny
Andeavor to buy Western Refining Logistics
U.S. pipeline operator Andeavor Logistics LP said on Monday it would buy rival Western Refining Logistics LP for $1.5 billion as it seeks to expand into the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. Western Refining unitholders will receive 0.5233 Andeavor Logistics units for each Western Refining unit. The deal values each Western Refining unit at $25.28, representing a premium of 6.4 percent to Western Refining Logistics' Friday closing price. Andeavor, formerly known as Tesoro Corp, bought Western Refining Inc for $4.1 billion in June.
Polish Oil Pipeline Back Online after Short Interruption
Crude oil flows through the pipeline supplying PKN Orlen's Plock refinery, the biggest in Poland, have been restored after a leak caused by illegal tapping, pipeline operator PERN said on Tuesday. The illegal tapping took place on Monday morning in the village of Trutnowy, northern Poland, but flows were restored on Monday afternon, a PERN spokeswoman said. The pipeline linking the Gdansk sea terminal with Plock in central Poland has capacity of 30 million tonnes a year of crude oil.
Canada Extends Decision Period for Oil Pipelines
The Canadian government announced an extension of time for reviewing and deciding on whether to let two key crude oil pipelines go ahead, in an attempt to spur deeper consultations and an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions. The interim rules are designed to take greater account of environmental impacts and indigenous groups' points of view for the two pipelines, which are opposed by environmentalists and some communities but backed by industry.
Enbridge Mulls M&A in Gas, Power Generation
Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline operator, is considering natural gas and power generation acquisitions to help boost the diversity of its asset base, the company's CEO said on Friday. "We've got such a tremendous liquids pipeline franchise," Chief Executive Al Monaco said on a conference call. "With that though we do feel very strongly about the fundamentals of both natural gas and power generation, renewables being one part of that. "We're scouring every opportunity out there and we will continue to do that," he added.
Quebec Aboriginals: TransCanada Pipeline Review Flawed
The Canadian government's review of TransCanada Corp's proposed Energy East pipeline is deeply flawed, Quebec aboriginal leaders said on Thursday, signaling they could line up with opponents of the C$12 billion ($9.43 billion) project. In a letter sent to Canada's natural resources minister and distributed to the media on Thursday, Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, criticized the federal government for failing to consult aboriginal communities on the scope of the review.
Plains All American to Build New Pipelines in West Texas
Plains All American LP will build two new crude oil pipelines and associated gathering systems in far West Texas and New Mexico, adding more reach to other expansions to move Permian Basin production to markets, the company said on Thursday. Both projects will increase infrastructure to move output from the Delaware Basin part of the Permian, where output is increasingly a very light form of crude known as condensate. Plains said the company will extend its Avalon pipeline in Loving County into Culberson County with a 32-mile…
Kinder Morgan Bolsters Gulf Logistics Infrastructure
To capitalize on a flood of domestic and Canadian crude into the U.S. Gulf Coast, logistics giant Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is spending more than $1.5 billion in Houston to build the most flexible oil and fuel transport hub in the country. The company's expanding infrastructure smorgasbord includes a bit of almost everything at the increasingly crowded Houston Ship Channel - all next door to the biggest concentration of refiners in the country.
Czech State Interested in Buying Kralupy Refinery
The Czech government is interested in buying one of the country's two oil refineries from Unipetrol, majority-owned by Poland's PKN Orlen , and combining it with state-owned oil and oil product pipeline firms, Finance Minister Andrej Babis said. PKN and the government have been in talks for months on the future shape of a refining sector hit by depressed margins. The purchase would help the government's strategic aim of keeping domestic fuel supplies and infrastructure operational and under government control.
Canada Revamps Pipeline Safety Rules Ahead Of New Projects
Canada unveiled new rules on Wednesday to enhance pipeline safety and spill response, ahead of the development of new projects proposed to carry crude from Alberta's oil sands to coastal ports for export. The new legislation will give Canada's energy regulator, the National Energy Board (NEB), more power to enforce compliance on safety and the authority to step in to lead spill response if a company is unwilling or unable to do so. Companies will also now be held liable…
Magellan Shifts Focus to Crude Oil Pipelines
Magellan Midstream Partners , the U.S. Midstream company with one of the longest pipeline systems in the country, is shifting its focus to crude oil with the majority of its capital spending earmarked for crude line projects. In a presentation made to investors on Tuesday, Magellan said of the $950 million it plans to spend between 2014 and 2016, 80 percent will go to crude oil projects primarily in and around Texas and its shale oil plays.
