Seaway Reversal Complete -- Crude Starts Flowing Again

At least two links. The first link from Wall Street Cheat Sheet:

Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge Energy Partners  are contributing to record levels of oil supplies held at the transit hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. The 500-mile, 30-inch diameter Seaway Pipeline, a joint venture between the two oil companies, resumed service on Friday with an improved capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, an increase of 150,000 barrels.

With the pipeline’s expansion enabling increased volumes of crude oil from the Midwestern United States to reach refineries along the Gulf Coast, prices on Europe’s Brent crude oil benchmark fell.

On Friday, Brent for February settlement dropped 1.5 percent to $110.27 per barrel on the London-based ICE futures exchange, which was the greatest decrease since December 6. As a result, the gap between the European benchmark and the U.S.-traded West Texas Intermediate crude oil shrank by $1.01 to $17.06 a barrel, the narrowest premium since September 21.

Reuters take on this story:

The Seaway pipeline expansion start-up is continuing as planned, and crude oil is flowing through the line, a spokesman at Enbridge said on Friday. The expanded 400,000-barrel-per day line, more than twice the 150,000 bpd previously, started up Friday.

And Bloomberg's report, on pricing:

Light Louisiana Sweet, the benchmark low-density, low- sulfur crude on the Gulf Coast, weakened 25 cents to a premium of $16.85 a barrel more than West Texas Intermediate in Cushing, according to data compiled by Bloomberg at 11:30 a.m. in New York. That’s LLS’s lowest premium to the U.S. benchmark since Sept. 6.

Heavy Louisiana Sweet oil’s premium to WTI shrank 50 cents to a $16.50. Mars Blend, a medium-gravity, high-sulfur crude from the Gulf of Mexico, weakened by $1 to a $12.25-a-barrel premium to WTI.