Key Points
- A shortage of pipeline space created a bottleneck for oil coming from the hottest US shale basin, but that is about to end with a big expansion of capacity that will help send more US crude into the Gulf Coast and out onto the world market.
- The oil and gas industry is building out pipelines as drillers expect to up their output from the Permian to where it could double over the next four years, to 8 million barrels a day. That’s more than all of the oil the U.S. produced just six years ago.
As if stuck in a partially clogged drain, oil from the hottest U.S. shale play has been caught in a bottleneck due to a lack of pipeline capacity.
But the transportation tie-up at the Permian Basin is about to ease up, and a new network of pipelines will help U.S. producers unleash more crude into the Gulf Coast and then onto the world market. Read more…