Taylor Noland

The U.S. crude oil market has undergone a drastic shift since the Shale Revolution. After a quarter-century of declining production and increasing dependence on imported oil, the U.S. has become the world’s leading producer. This transformation turned the U.S. into a major exporter and a critical supplier to the international market and also led to an evolution in crude oil trading. In today’s RBN blog, the first in a series, we’ll explore the history of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contracts. 

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. 

Permian producers have enjoyed an abundance of outbound options since the pandemic, with egress capacity surpassing production. While a significant amount of capacity remains available, not all routes have proven equal in the eyes of the market, with Corpus Christi and Houston the most sought-after destinations for Permian crude. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll explore why ONEOK’s BridgeTex Pipeline is the only conduit serving the Houston market that still has room to take on additional volumes — although it appears to be quickly nearing full capacity. 

In the far western reaches of the Permian Basin lies Orla, TX — a town steeped in history and significance. Orla, which can be fittingly translated into “border” in Spanish, is about 40 miles north of Pecos, near the New Mexico border in Reeves County. Founded in 1890 as a section house for the Pecos Valley Railroad, Orla evolved from a modest stop along the tracks to a bustling oil supply hub — not your typical hub with lots of tank farms close together but still a heavy throughput area — by the 1960s. Though often considered a ghost town today, with a population thought to be in the single digits, Orla remains a vital player in the oil industry. As the origin region for several major takeaway pipelines in the Permian, this once-thriving community continues to serve as a crucial link in the region’s vast network of oil exploration, extraction and transportation, particularly along heavily traveled U.S. Highway 285. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the role that Orla plays in crude oil takeaway from the prolific Permian Basin. 

The great Texas philosopher Matthew McConaughey once said, “I don’t want to just revolve. I want to evolve.” Few pieces of crude oil infrastructure embody that spirit of adaptation quite like ONEOK’s Longhorn Pipeline. Starting out as a Houston-bound conduit for Permian crude, Longhorn later reversed its flow and started moving refined products, then — at just the right time, in the early days of the Permian’s Shale Era rebirth — flipped back to eastbound crude service. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll detail the pipeline’s evolution and its critical role in moving Permian oil to the Gulf Coast market.

The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has long been a hotspot for crude oil and natural gas production, but technological advancements have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in deepwater operations, opening previously inaccessible reservoirs. Chevron is the first to deploy new equipment capable of handling the more extreme pressures found very deep below the seafloor. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll highlight the project — known as Anchor — and explore how this new technology is paving the way for similar developments. 

Crane, TX, entered the 20th century with a population of only 51 people but a staggering 21,400 cattle and sheep, reflecting its ranching roots. Established as a railway station along the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway (KCM&O) in 1911, Crane initially relied on ranching and the railroad industry. However, the discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1926 drastically shifted its economic landscape, turning Crane into a bustling oil boomtown. And that was just the beginning. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the central role Crane plays in bringing crude from the prolific Permian to the U.S. Gulf Coast.