Enterprise Products Partners (EPD, Financials) is not planning to add a new crude oil pipeline out of the Permian Basin in West Texas, according to co-CEO Jim Teague.
"We are not considering a new line out of the Permian," Teague said Thursday during a Houston conference.
The choice results from consolidation in the Permian, the biggest U.S. shale basin, wherein most output has been controlled by fewer corporations vowing to limit output. This action seeks to prevent overstock, hence reducing prices.
Besides updates on the Permian, Teague also spoke about Enterprise's planned offshore oil export facility, the Sea Port Oil Terminal, which has seen delays because of legal permissions and difficulties getting commercial commitments. "Nobody wants to be first," Teague said, stressing the uncertainty of prospective consumers about signing on.
Along with many other deepwater oil export projects in the United States, SPOT has battled to get momentum. Teague mentioned as a major influence shifts in world oil flows. Russian oil has been moved to Asia since many Western countries forbid imports of Russian petroleum after the invasion of Ukraine, lowering the market for U.S. exports that might be delivered from deepwater facilities like SPOT.
"Things have changed, but my gut feeling is that we'll be able to get SPOT across the finish line," Teague said, wary optimism about the project's future despite the present difficulties.
Along with multi-year regulatory delays and changes in world oil demand, the slowing down in U.S. shale oil production growth has left SPOT and other competing offshore oil-export projects wondering about their future. Enterprise is still dedicated to forwarding its SPOT goals while constantly observing market circumstances.
