Crude oil flows from the Permian Basin to the U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) edged up nearly 1% in September, reaching 5.69 MMb/d — a 54 Mb/d increase from August (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, driven by a 10-day planned outage on the Wink to Webster pipeline. That decline came after May’s record-breaking monthly figure of 5.76 MMb/d. In September, volumes to all Gulf Coast destinations saw gains.
Corpus Christi set another record for inbound Permian flows in September, rising 26 Mb/d to 2.46 MMb/d. With most Permian-to-Corpus pipelines already operating at capacity, further increases will likely hinge on the Gray Oak Pipeline expansion, expected in early Q2 2025. Houston, which continues to absorb incremental Permian barrels as Corpus is at capacity, saw volumes rise by 24 Mb/d to 2.37 MMb/d. Flows to Nederland held nearly steady at 860 Mb/d, up by 4 Mb/d.
