Of the many midstream companies with Permian crude oil gathering systems, a few also own bigger-diameter pipelines that shuttle crude to regional hubs as well as even larger takeaway pipelines to the Gulf Coast. Noble Midstream Partners is one of those that employs this “well-to-water” strategy, which enables midstreamers to participate in multiple links of the value chain; it can also give them better control over oil quality as crude makes its way from wells in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico to coastal refineries and export docks hundreds of miles away. Today, we conclude our series on Permian crude gathering with a look at the master limited partnership’s (MLP) mix of gathering, shuttle and long-haul pipelines.
By now, with Permian crude oil production topping 4 MMb/d and on its way to 5 MMb/d, significant portions of the hydrocarbon-rich play are already criss-crossed by many spider webs of crude oil gathering systems. In this blog series, which we started back in April, we’ve provided an overview of a select group of these systems — certainly not all of them, but a lot. In Part 1, we looked at the Beta Crude Connector, a 100-mile-plus, 150-Mb/d system that a joint venture of Concho Resources and Frontier Energy Services is developing in the Midland Basin to serve Concho and other producers. Part 2 reviewed Reliance Gathering’s 185-Mb/d pipeline network — also in the Midland — which was originally developed to serve the affiliated producer Reliance Energy, but has since undergone a number of expansions to serve other producers too. In Part 3, we considered San Mateo Midstream’s crude gathering systems in the Delaware Basin — one in Eddy County, NM, and the other in Loving County, TX — and the company’s plans for two new systems on the New Mexico side of the state line. Part 4 turned to Medallion Midstream’s fast-growing, 1,000-mile crude oil gathering/header system in the Midland (which provides access to firm shippers serving 20 producers) and its 116-mile Delaware Express gathering/shuttle system in the southern Delaware.
In Part 5, we discussed the 200-mile gathering system that refiner Delek US has been developing in the Midland to deliver locally produced crude to Delek’s Big Spring, TX, refinery and others. Part 6 examined the crude gathering system that a joint venture of WPX Energy and Howard Energy Partners (HEP) has been developing in the Delaware Basin’s Stateline area, while Part 7 reviewed Oryx Midstream Services’ 860-mile Oryx Trans-Permian gathering and regional transport system. In Part 8, we discussed 3 Bear Energy’s Hat Mesa Oil Gathering System, which over the past couple of years has grown to become a network of 200 miles of gathering lines and small trunk lines in the northern Delaware Basin. Part 9 focused on the Permian gathering system now owned by MPLX, and Part 10 reviewed EnLink Midstream’s Greater Chickadee gathering system in the Midland and its Avenger system in the Delaware.
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