Genesis Energy has extended maintenance at its Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS) by five days because of unfavorable weather in the Gulf of Mexico. Genesis owns 64% of CHOPS and operates it.
Genesis had planned a 14-day outage of CHOPS that saw a series of delays. The shutdown eventually started on October 26 for conclusion around November 9. The latest work extension, which will see the CHOPS maintenance ending around November 14, is tentative and could change again depending on operational or weather issues.
CHOPS is a 380-mile pipe that extends from GOM’s outer continental shelf, delivering offshore output to refineries and terminals located in Port Arthur and Texas City, Texas (see map below). It has the capacity to transport 500-600 Mb/d of supplies. In Q3 2024, flows averaged just above 300 Mb/d, broadly unchanged from the year prior, according to a company SEC filing. Oil shipped on CHOPS is traded as Southern Green Canyon crude (SGC), a medium-heavy, high sulfur crude that is well sought among refiners in the U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) and overseas.
