Space Oddity – Congestion On The Colonial Refined Products Pipeline

While recent analysis has raised concerns crude oil pipelines are running half empty the opposite is true for many of the nations’ refined product distribution pipes. Take the huge Colonial Pipeline system that delivers as much as 2.7 MMb/d of refined products from Gulf Coast refineries to destinations up the East Coast as far as New York. The southern stretch of the pipeline from Pasadena near Houston to Greensboro, NC has been running full since 2012 - meaning that shipper volumes are subject to rationing or apportionment. Today we start a two-part series explaining why the Colonial pipeline is so congested and how it operates.