Energy Transfer has built one of the largest crude oil midstream portfolios in the U.S., yet one of its most important assets — the West Texas Gulf Pipeline — often flies under the radar. The 72-years-young line is still a workhorse, frequently operating above nameplate capacity as it moves crude from the Permian Basin to Longview and Nederland, TX, where it feeds into Energy Transfer’s massive Gulf Coast export hub. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at West Texas Gulf and how it fits into Energy Transfer’s broader midstream strategy.
This is the latest in our series on crude oil pipelines between the Permian Basin and the Gulf Coast. In Bustin’ Out, we discussed EPIC Crude Pipeline, which has been operating at full capacity. Then, we told the story of Gray Oak Pipeline in Movin' On Up and the Cactus I and II pipelines in Can’t Hold Back. All four travel to Corpus Christi. We recently wrapped up our Permian-to-Houston series with a new Drill Down Report, West Texas Highway, where we detailed how Houston is competing head-to-head with the Corpus Christi area to attract Permian barrels.
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.
Today, we’re looking at West Texas Gulf and its path to Longview, a city in East Texas’s Gregg County, which once produced the most oil in the state; and Nederland, a small city about 10 miles southeast of Beaumont. Beaumont and Nederland are in an industrial corridor known as the Golden Triangle and are often referenced together. Only two crude oil pipelines make the trip from the Permian to Nederland, both owned by Energy Transfer: West Texas Gulf and the Permian Express system (which we’ll cover in an upcoming blog). The two boast a combined capacity of nearly 1 MMb/d.
Nederland receives less Permian crude than Corpus Christi and Houston because its primary role is feeding nearby refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, including facilities owned by ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies. By contrast, Houston and Corpus Christi are export-driven hubs that together handle about 75% of Permian output. As of early 2025, roughly 2.5 MMb/d of Permian crude flowed to Corpus Christi, with 2.4 MMb/d headed to Houston, according to RBN’s Crude Oil Permian Report, and only about 900 Mb/d destined for Nederland.
Early flows to Nederland primarily supplied refinery demand, but after the ban on most U.S. crude exports was lifted in 2015, volumes also began supporting export movements. In October, crude export loadings in the Beaumont/Nederland area averaged about 230-250 Mb/d, while Houston consistently exports more than 1 MMb/d and Corpus Christi pushes above 2 MMb/d, according to RBN’s Crude Voyager.
While it’s true that crude export volumes from Nederland remain much smaller than those from Houston or Corpus Christi, West Texas Gulf’s connections to Longview and Nederland are valued as the pipe has been running full (more on that in a moment). The 580-mile West Texas Gulf (aqua line in Figure 1 below) originates in Colorado City, TX, and forks near Wortham, TX, with one line running to Longview and another to Nederland. Pipeline construction began in 1952 and was completed in 1953 by Gulf Oil.
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About the song
“Touch of Grey” has music written by Jerry Garcia and lyrics by Robert Hunter. It appears as the first song on side one of the Grateful Dead’s 12th studio album, In the Dark. Released as the first single off the album in July 1987, it went to #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It was the band’s only Top 10 hit. The song was first performed at a concert back in September 1982. A video directed by Gary Gutierrez featuring the band performing live as skeletons received heavy rotation on MTV. Personnel on the record were: Jerry Garcia (lead vocals, lead guitar), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Phil Lesh (bass), Brent Mydland (keyboards, backing vocals), Bill Kreutzman (drums, percussion) and Mickey Hart (drums, percussion).
In the Dark was recorded during January 1987 at Marin Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, CA, with Jerry Garcia and John Cutler producing. Since the band had been playing the songs live for some time, it was decided to record the basic tracks in an empty theater to capture a live feel for the record. Released in July 1987, the album went to #6 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified 2X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Two singles were released from the LP.
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, CA, in early 1965 by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzman. Originally called The Warlocks, the band changed their name to Grateful Dead in December 1965 when they performed at a Ken Kesey Acid Test in San Jose. They released 13 studio albums, nine live albums, 12 compilation albums and 27 singles and have sold more than 35 million records worldwide. Hundreds of live shows that fans taped are still available on bootleg cassette tapes. They are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Kennedy Center Honors. After Jerry Garcia died in 1995, various iterations of the band have performed with different surviving members involved. Sixteen members have passed through the band since its inception. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan died in 1973, Jerry Garcia in 1995, Robert Hunter in 2019, and Phil Lesh in 2024. Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart are still involved with various musical endeavors.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
