Peak Oil? What Peak Oil? EPD TO Expand Storage To Accommodate The Permian -- May 12, 2015

Active rigs:

	5/12/2015	05/12/2014	05/12/2013	05/12/2012	05/12/2011
Active Rigs	85	193	185	209	175

RBN Energy: update on pipeline capacity out of the Permian.

EPD announced it’s latest  – yet to be named – new construction crude pipeline project at the end of April. The 540 Mb/d capacity pipeline will run 400 odd miles from Midland, TX (the main crude trading and storage hub in the Permian basin) to an existing Enterprise terminal at Sealy, TX.

At Sealy the pipeline will connect with EPD’s existing Houston crude distribution network – principally via the Rancho II pipeline, due online this July (2015) that will connect Sealy with the EPD storage hub at ECHO – southeast of Houston.

The Rancho II pipeline will have initial capacity this year of 480 Mb/d but can be expanded to as much as 1 MMb/d if required and as we described recently forms a key component of EPD’s pipeline network to deliver crude from the Eagle Ford (and now the Permian) into ECHO.

The new Midland pipeline is supported by long-term agreements with shippers and is expected online (subject to approvals) by 2Q 2017. The pipeline will be supplied at Midland by a combination of truck and pipeline deliveries into the existing EPD terminal that had 1.4 MMBbl of crude storage as of March 2014 and is going to be expanded for the new pipeline.

EPD already own a 674-mile West Texas gathering system in the Permian including three terminals in New Mexico at Hobbs, Lynch and Jal. The existing throughput at the Midland terminal is about 335 Mb/d of crude (according to EPD’s Analyst Day presentation in March 2014).

Peak oil? What peak oil?

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Big Story Of The Day

"No one" is showing up for President Obama's mideast summit. Except perhaps Senator McConnell.

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Goldman Sachs Shorting The Market?

Predicting another downturn in prices. What's new? [The CNBC crawler show oil up 2.23% today at $60.57.]

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Closing ObamaCare Loopholes

For The Archives

Reported at LA Times. 

The Department of Health and Human Services said insurers must cover at least one birth control option under each of 18 methods approved by the FDA — without copays.

Also, insurers can't charge patients for anesthesia services in connection with colonoscopies to screen for cancer risk.

President Obama's healthcare law requires most insurance plans to cover preventive care at no additional charge to patients. That includes employer plans serving about 3 in 4 workers.

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The Good Ol' Days

I remember the good old days when the Brits were happy if they could find one mole in their intelligence operations. (I am in my Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy phase. Re-reading the book and watching the movie several times again).

But now we have NATO reportedly expelling dozens -- not a dozen, but multiple dozens -- of Russian spies from NATO headquarters in Brussels.