Crude oil flows from the Permian Basin to the U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) rose nearly 2% in August 2024, reaching 5.64 MMb/d — an increase of 93 Mb/d compared to July (see graph below) — according to the latest monthly data from the Texas Railroad Commission. This follows a June dip to the lowest outbound flows since November 2023, attributed to a planned 10-day outage on the Wink to Webster (W2W) pipeline. This drop came after May’s record-breaking monthly figure of 5.76 MMb/d. In August, flows to Houston and Corpus Christi saw an increase, while volumes to Nederland saw a slight decline.
Corpus Christi recorded its highest inbound flows from the Permian on record in August, climbing 73 Mb/d from July to 2.43 MMb/d. With most of the pipelines to Corpus already operating at capacity, further increases in Permian-to-Corpus flows will likely depend on the Gray Oak pipeline expansion, expected in early Q2 2025. Houston, which has benefited significantly from Permian production growth as Corpus pipelines approach full capacity, saw volumes rise by 33 Mb/d to 2.35 MMb/d. In contrast, flows to Nederland dipped by 13 Mb/d.
