We’ve reached the two-year anniversary of the reversal of the joint-venture Capline crude oil pipeline. With its current north-to-south flow, it adds to the few conduits that can move oil from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast, specifically the St. James, LA, oil hub. Flows have been on a steady climb since southbound service began in December 2021, but volumes appear to be short of its available capacity, and there are looming headwinds. In today’s RBN blog, we examine whether Capline’s flows could be affected by the impending startup of the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMX). Could rising Alberta production be its golden ticket?
The 632-mile Capline system (dark-orange line in Figure 1 below) moved as much as 1.2 MMb/d of imported crude and offshore Gulf of Mexico output to Midwestern refiners in the decades after it began service in 1968. But those volumes started to decline as refineries in the Midwest gained more access to barrels from Western Canada and the Bakken, as we analyzed in Draggin’ the Capline and later in Livin’ on the Edge. Flows on the 40-inch-diameter pipeline took another hit after Plains All American and Valero Energy’s Diamond Pipeline (green line in Figure 1 inset) from the Cushing, OK, storage hub to Valero’s Memphis, TN, refinery started up in 2017, eliminating the need to bring barrels up from St. James, a matter we examined in Memphis, Tennessee.
Figure 1. Crude Oil Pipelines Into and Out of Patoka, IL. Source: RBN
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About the song
“Against the Wind” was written by Bob Seger and is the second single from Seger’s 11th studio album of the same name. Seger says the lyrics in the song are “about trying to move ahead and keeping your sanity and integrity at the same time.” The “Janey” that is referred to in the first verse is a nod to Seger’s longtime girlfriend at the time, Jan Dinsdale. The nostalgic feel of the lyrics is similar to Seger’s previous hit, “Night Moves.” The “Against the Wind” single was released in April 1980 and went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Personnel on the record were: Bob Seger (lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar), Drew Abbott (guitar), Chris Campbell (bass), Alto Reed (saxophone) and David Teegarden (drums, percussion). Paul Harris played piano and organ on the song, and The Eagles’ Don Henley and Glenn Frey sang backing harmonies.
The Against the Wind LP was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, AL, during 1979. It was produced by Bob Seger, Punch Andrews and Bill Szymczyk, and released in February 1980. The album went to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and has the distinction of being the album that knocked Pink Floyd's The Wall out of its long-running perch at the top position. It was the fourth album to feature The Silver Bullet Band, although the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was used on half of the record. Against the Wind earned Seger two Grammy Awards: one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and the other for Best Recording Package. The LP has been certified 5x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Bob Seger is an American singer, songwriter and musician from Detroit. He has released 18 studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums and 66 singles. He has sold over 75 million records worldwide. Seger has won two Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He completed his farewell tour in 2019.
