Pierce Junction

Even as Houston area crude oil storage – at refineries and commercial terminals – remains just half utilized according to data from Genscape, midstream operators are busy building more tanks. About 7 MMBbl of storage is under construction now and plans have been announced this year to build another 11 MMBbl. Today we detail plans to expand crude storage in the Houston area.

Changes, expansions and reversals of the existing logistics system that supplies crude to 2.5 MMb/d plus of refining capacity in Houston have allowed refiners to expand output and process more crude than ever before. But there is still another 1.5 MMb/d of pipeline capacity coming into Houston by the end of 2015 and the decline in waterborne imports has reduced system flexibility. One company’s plans to build out over 17 MMBbl of crude storage in salt dome caverns south of Houston could alleviate some of the storage capacity challenges. Today we discuss the proposal.