Permian pipelines bring relief—and challenges

Two major new crude pipelines out of the Permian Basin entered service this month, but while this provides some relief to producers, it shifts the congestion to the Gulf Coast

Permian Basin producers should see some relief from the takeaway capacity crunch that has helped constrain crude output growth in the region since last year. From the beginning of August, two out of three major oil pipeline projects scheduled for start-up in the second half of 2019 have entered service. However, while this additional capacity is expected to help boost Permian production, it also creates new challenges for the region's energy industry. It effectively shifts the congestion out of the basin and onto the US Gulf Coast. Within a week of midstream firm Plains All American Pipeline bringing the Cactus II project online, its peer Epic Midstream confirmed that it had started a tempor