Shale Surge Crashes Into Bottlenecks From Pipelines to Ports - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-29/shale-s-surge-crashes-into-bottlenecks-from-pipelines-to-ports
The U.S. shale surge is crashing headlong into a barrage of bottlenecks.
From West Texas pipelines to Oklahoma storage centers and Gulf Coast export terminals, the delivery system for American crude is straining to keep up with soaring production. That’s limiting the industry’s ability to take full advantage of growing worldwide demand, with U.S. barrels forced to take an a $9-a-barrel price discount to international crude.
Barclays Plc analysts on Tuesday predicted “a new shock" for energy markets as a dearth of pipeline capacity near a key Oklahoma storage hub threatens the flow of oil. Pipeline shortages in Texas’ Permian basin, meanwhile, may not clear until late 2019. The problems undercut hopes American output will stabilize global prices as crude from Venezuela and Iran is increasingly at risk.
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Pipelines aren’t the only problem. The U.S. currently has only one export terminal that can accommodate the 2 million-barrel supertankers preferred by Asian and European customers, and expansions at other ports aren’t expected to be complete before 2020, according to Sandy Fielden, director of oil research at Chicago-based Morningstar Inc.
