As crude oil production in the Permian continues to grow and pipelines from West Texas to the Gulf Coast edge closer to full utilization, it’s becoming a challenge for producers and shippers alike. Amid this capacity crunch, one pipeline stands out as the only one with a detailed expansion plan: the 850-mile, 900-Mb/d Gray Oak Pipeline from West Texas to Corpus Christi and Sweeny, TX, which started up in late 2019 and became fully operational in early 2020. In today’s RBN blog — the latest in our series on Permian crude oil pipelines — we discuss Gray Oak Pipeline’s dynamic story, including its shifting ownership, strategic connectivity and expansion plans.
Canadian crude output is rising, requiring new export routes. As traditional pathways face constraints, the U.S. Rockies—especially the Guernsey, WY hub—are emerging as key corridors for moving Canadian heavy crude to downstream markets, including the Gulf Coast.
In Part 1 and Part 3 of this series, we looked at Longhorn Pipeline and BridgeTex Pipeline, respectively, and what ONEOK has accomplished with these systems since it acquired Magellan. In Part 2, we looked at EPIC’s Crude Pipeline to the Corpus Christi area, which has been operating at full capacity. Today, we’ll cover Gray Oak.
We’ll begin by noting that Gray Oak started up shortly before crude oil demand cratered as the pandemic hit. In response, Permian producers shut in a significant amount of production during the summer of 2020. Additionally, two other new Permian pipelines — also to Corpus Christi — started up during the second half of 2019: Plains All American’s Cactus II (585 Mb/d) and EPIC Crude (400 Mb/d, expanded in 2020 to 600 Mb/d), resulting in a glut of crude pipeline egress.
Despite these challenges, Gray Oak’s outflows quickly ramped up throughout 2020. As shown in Figure 1 below, Gray Oak has operated near its 900-Mb/d capacity (dotted horizontal black line) for some time now. Earlier this year, Gray Oak Pipeline LLC sanctioned a 120-Mb/d expansion following a successful open season. Contracted volume commitments of 80 Mb/d start in April 2025 and one year later another 40 Mb/d is committed to the pipe. Gray Oak could offer early service for new or existing shippers if capacity is desired sooner.
Figure 1. Gray Oak Outflows. Source: RBN Crude Oil Permian
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About the song
“Movin’ On Up” was written by Jeff Barry and Ja’Net DuBois. It served as the theme song for the hit sitcom “The Jeffersons,” which ran from 1975 to 1985. It was performed by Ja’Net DuBois and Oren Waters on lead vocals, backed by a 35-member church choir. Interestingly, “Movin’ On Up,” in spite of its popularity, was never released as a single. It has appeared on a few TV theme compilation albums. American rapper Nelly sampled the song for his song “Batter Up.”
Ja’Net DuBois was an American actress and singer-songwriter best known for her portrayal of Willona Woods on the hit CBS sitcom “Good Times,” which ran from 1974 to 1979. She released three studio albums and appeared as a featured player in many movies and television shows. She died in February 2020.
Oren Waters is an American vocalist best known for his backup singing group, The Waters. They have been a part of 260 gold records and over 100 platinum records. Waters currently teaches vocal performance at the California College of Music.
Jeff Barry is an American songwriter, singer and record producer with several hit records that he wrote going back to 1958 with his then-writing partner, Ellie Greenwich. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and, along with Greenwich, is a recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is still writing and doing production work today.
“The Jeffersons” was a hit sitcom developed by Norman Lear with a primarily African-American cast. It starred Isabel Sandford and Sherman Hemsley. It ran from 1975 to 1985 and lasted 11 seasons, with a total of 253 episodes. The series won two Emmy Awards. The theme song, “Movin’ On Up,” was an important element of the show. Sandford died in July 2004 and Hemsley in July 2012.
