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Plains All American News

19 Apr 2021

NOIA Elects Tim Duncan as Chairman, Paul Danos as Vice Chairman

(File photo: Talos Energy)

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) board of directors has elected Tim Duncan, president & CEO of Talos Energy, as chairman and Paul Danos, owner, president and CEO of Danos, as vice chairman for the 2021-22 term. Duncan and Danos were confirmed in their positions during a virtual NOIA Board of Directors meeting on April 14.NOIA president Erik Milito said, “The offshore energy industry continuously lifts society in so many ways. The leadership from Tim and Paul will help NOIA continue to advocate successfully for the promise of American offshore energy.

15 Jan 2020

Corpus Christi Crude Exports Boom

© Brent Coulter / Adobe Stock

U.S. crude exports from Corpus Christi, Texas, have surged to a record in recent weeks, often surpassing hubs such as Houston and Beaumont, Texas, thanks to faster-than-expected infrastructure additions.The infrastructure boom at Corpus Christi helped push crude exports there to a weekly record of 1.59 million barrels per day (bpd) in late December, more than doubling levels that held for the first eight months of last year, and above Houston's 2019 peak of 1.36 million bpd, according to vessel-tracking firm ClipperData.The heavy flows suggest that fears of a bottleneck that would impede U.S.

07 Mar 2019

Moda Midstream Eyes Second TX VLCC Berth

A VLCC alongside in the port of Corpus Christi, TX (CREDIT: port of Corpus Christi)

Moda Midstream LLC is considering building a second berth at its Ingleside, Texas, crude export terminal to accommodate booming shale oil production on the Gulf Coast, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.The expansion to the terminal that loads oil tankers will come as three major pipelines open in the second half of 2019, CEO Bo McCall said in an interview. Moda is also increasing the facility's crude storage capacity to 10 million barrels from 2 million."When these new pipelines come online…

23 Oct 2017

U.S. Midwest Refiners Boost Output

U.S. refineries from Ohio to Minnesota are capitalizing on access to cheap crude from Western Canada and North Dakota oilfields, helping their region break a historic dependence on fuel from the Gulf Coast while redrawing oil trade maps. Since the early 2000s, crude and fuel flows from the Gulf Coast into the U.S. heartland have been cut in half, as crude coming from Canada and North Dakota has pushed U.S. Midwest refining activity to record levels. In 2016, Midwest refining capacity rose to 3.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, the highest annual volume on record. Midwest refiners such as Marathon Petroleum Corp, Phillips 66, BP PLC and Husky Energy have invested billions of dollars on new units capable of turning sludgy crude from Canada into gasoline and diesel.

29 Jul 2015

USCG Investigates Oil Slick off California Coast

The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating a large oil sheen off the California coast west of Santa Barbara on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the agency said. The slick, which was about 60 feet (18 meters) wide, was spotted about 1,000 yards (meters) offshore from Goleta State Beach west of Santa Barbara, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Andrea Anderson. Anderson could not give the approximate length of the sheen. In May, as much as 2,400 barrels of crude oil were spilled onto a pristine beach about 15 miles (24 km) west of Goleta when a pipeline ruptured along the coast. But there were no immediate reports of any link between the two incidents. "We don't have a definite source yet," Anderson said of the oil sheen discovered on Wednesday.

11 Jul 2015

Second Major California Beach to Reopen after May Oil Spill

The second of two major California beaches that were closed after a ruptured pipeline spewed some 2,400 barrels of crude oil will be reopened next week, state parks officials said on Friday. Refugio State Beach, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Santa Barbara, was closed along with nearby El Capitan State Beach after they were fouled when an underground pipeline that runs along the coastal highway burst on May 19. "We're obviously excited to get the park open again," said Eric Hjelstrom, California's state park superintendent. El Capitan State Beach was reopened on June 26. Hjelstrom said officials had completed a site assessment of Refugio State Beach and had determined that it was safe for members of the public to use again.

11 Jun 2015

CA Spill Clean-up Costs to Exceed $60 Million

Clean-up costs associated with a Californian oil pipeline rupture that dumped as much as 2,400 barrels of crude onto a pristine stretch of coastline and into the Pacific Ocean have exceeded $60 million, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday. Plains All American Pipeline spokeswoman Meredith Mathews told the newspaper that expenses for restoring the affected area near Santa Barbara ran as high as $3 million a day. Mathews added that the total, which did not include financial damage claims from people or businesses that may have been affected by the spill, were likely to increase as clean-up efforts continued. Representatives for the pipeline did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

28 May 2015

US Orders Owner to Clean Up Ruptured Pipeline

Photo courtesy of the Refugio Response Joint Information Center

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard issued a joint federal Clean Water Act order to ensure the cleanup of heavy crude oil leaked from a pipeline near Refugio State Beach, Santa Barbara County, Calif. The order requires Plains Pipeline, L.P. (a.k.a. Plains All American Pipeline), the pipeline owner and operator, to continue its cleanup work inland, beachside, and in the ocean, to contain the oil and prevent further shoreline contamination. Today’s…

23 May 2015

Pipeline Spill Could Hamper California Oil Projects

Hundreds of barrels of oil that gushed from a ruptured coastal pipeline in scenic California this week could stiffen opposition to large oil projects that companies want to build in the state, notably those to deliver cheap U.S. crude on trains. Several proposed oil-by-rail offloading terminals in California were already being contested in light of several fiery crude train derailments since 2013 that have stoked safety concerns about spills and explosions. Now, the sight of oil washing up on the shores of Santa Barbara could further galvanize rail opponents after up to 2,500 barrels of crude leaked on Tuesday from a pipeline owned by Plains All American Pipeline LP.

22 May 2015

SoCal Beach Cleanup Could Take Months

The U.S. Coast Guard captain overseeing cleanup of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture that closed two California state beaches and fouled offshore waters near Santa Barbara said on Thursday it may take months to restore the area to its natural condition. Up to 2,500 barrels (105,000 gallons) of crude petroleum, according to latest estimates, gushed onto San Refugio State Beach and into the Pacific about 20 miles (32 km) west of Santa Barbara on Tuesday when an underground pipeline that runs along the coastal highway burst. As much as a fifth of the amount was believed to have reached the ocean, leaving oil slicks that stretched for more than 9 miles (15 km) along the coast.

20 May 2015

Pipeline Breaks on Calif. Coast

A pipeline ruptured along the scenic California coastline on Tuesday, spilling some 21,000 gallons (79,000 liters) of oil into the ocean and on beaches before it could be secured, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said. The pipeline, which runs parallel to Highway 101 near Santa Barbara, left a slick extending about four miles (6.4 km) along Refugio State Beach, extending about 50 yards (46 meters) into the water, Petty Officer Andrea Anderson of the Coast Guard said. Anderson said the company responsible for the 24-inch (61- cm) pipeline was identified as Plains All American Pipeline, which had brought in a company to begin cleaning up the spill. Refugio State Beach was closed. The cause of the rupture had not been determined, Anderson said.

17 Feb 2015

CSX Train Hauling North Dakota Crude Derails

A CSX Corp train hauling North Dakota crude derailed in West Virginia on Monday, setting a number of cars ablaze, destroying a house and forcing the evacuation of two towns in the second significant oil-train incident in three days. One or two of the cars plunged into the Kanawha River, said Robert Jelacic of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. CSX said the train was hauling 109 cars from North Dakota to the coastal town of Yorktown, Virginia, where midstream firm Plains All American Pipelines runs an oil depot. It said one person was being treated for potential inhalation of fumes. No other injuries or deaths were reported. As of 9:30 p.m.

17 Sep 2014

Buckeye Pipeline Quietly Makes Key Acquisition

Houston-based logistic firm Buckeye Partners has spent more than $3.5 billion buying assets since 2010, transforming itself from a quiet regional pipeline utility into an emerging energy powerhouse. But the acquisition that may best symbolize its evolution is one the company didn't tout to investors this summer: a Washington lobbyist. After spending most of the past century pumping fuel from one place to another, the 128-year-old company has become a key player in the import and export of North American oil, with an unrivalled network of East Coast and Caribbean fuel depots and an expanding business loading crude oil from trains to tankers.

20 Aug 2014

Refiners Seek Jones Act Workarounds as Crude Export Debate Heats Up

Photo: PBF Energy

As the first U.S. oil condensate exports head to Asia from the Gulf Coast, crude producers and refiners are exploring ways to get around a century-old law that makes it three times more expensive to ship by water between U.S. ports than to sail to a foreign port. The Jones Act, originally passed to protect the U.S. maritime industry, restricts passage between U.S. ports to ships that are U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed. If oil exports pick up pace while the Jones Act is left in place, U.S.

15 May 2014

Pipeline Breaks, Spills Crude Oil Into LA Neighborhood

A faulty Valve Pump station at a Petroleum Pipeline Ruptured Early on Thursday in an Industrial corner of Los Angeles, spewing Crude Oil 40 Feet (12 meters) into the Air, onto the Roof of a strip club next door, and leaving four people sick from the fumes. An Estimated 10,000 gallons of Oil gushed from the Pipeline before it was shut down and the spill was halted, soaking an Area about a half-Block Long, Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jaime Moore Said. The Company that runs the Pipeline, Plains All American Pipeline LP, a Unit of Plains Pipeline LP, put the Volume of the spill at "less than 450 barrels (18,900 gallons)" based on Current field Inspections.

09 May 2014

Oil-By-Rail Refiners Say Regulators Will Have Data By End Of May

U.S. regulators seeking data from refiners in the effort to gauge the volatility of North Dakota Bakken crude being shipped by rail will have the information by the end of May, according to the industry's trade group. Seventeen companies have anonymously submitted data from more than 1,000 samples to an undisclosed third-party auditor hired by the American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers (AFPM), the U.S. independent refining industry's trade group, the group's general counsel, Rich Moskowitz, said on Friday. A technical consultant is compiling the information into a report to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation by month's end, Moskowitz said. It will be submitted without companies identifying themselves because they consider the data proprietary.

02 Jan 2007

Divers Seal Ruptured Pipeline Off Galveston

Contracted divers for Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline began assessing damage to a ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil pipeline Sunday after the U.S. Coast Guard sealed the break. The rupture, first denoted by a drop in pipeline pressure on Christmas Eve, occurred about 30 miles southeast of Galveston. The leak has spilled an estimated 44,500 gallons of medium crude oil, according to a Coast Guard press release. Plains Pipeline will review it's operational records to determine whether the Coast Guard's spill amount estimate is accurate, company spokesman Jordan Janak said. None of the oil has washed ashore, and weather conditions are dispersing the spill and nudging the leftover sheen away from the coast, the Coast Guard press release states.

01 Nov 2006

Plains All American Pipeline Acquires 50 Percent Interest in Settoon Towing

L.P. announced that its subsidiary, Plains Marketing, L.P., has acquired a 50% membership interest in Settoon Towing LLC. the cash purchase price was approximately $33 million. with 22 tugs and 22 tank barges under charter. transport tugs (including three on lease or charter). water from inland production facilities across the Gulf Coast. to numerous inland waterways.