Magellan Midstream Partners has suspended all inbound and outbound crude and refined products pipeline services in the Houston area, including the 400,000 b/d BridgeTex and 225,000 b/d Longhorn crude lines from the Permian basin.
The action follows widespread flooding in the Houston region in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm which hit the Texas coast on 25 August and continues to pump heavy rain into the area.
Magellan has also shut its Houston oil distribution system as well as operations at its Galena Park and East Houston facilities.
Magellan and its partner in BridgeTex, Plains All American Pipeline, recently increased capacity on the line by 100,000 b/d to 400,000 b/d. A new BridgeTex origin point in Bryan, Texas, went into service in the second quarter, allowing shipments from the Eaglebine region for delivery to Houston.
The Longhorn pipeline moves crude from the Permian basin to Houston.
Magellan last week shut its terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as its 50,000 b/d condensate splitter, ahead of Hurricane Harvey hitting the Texas coast.
NuStar Energy also shut its Corpus Christi terminal.
The ports of Houston and Corpus Christi were also shut last week.
Plains would not confirm whether it shut the 250,000 b/d Cactus crude pipeline system which runs from the Permian to Gardendale, Texas, in the Eagle Ford shale, connecting to Plains' existing system into Corpus Christi. The company is in the process of expanding Cactus to 390,000 b/d. "As the storm advances, some pipeline services may be disrupted," Plains said on 25 August.
Kinder Morgan said last week it was shutting down select systems in the path of the hurricane in preparation for high winds and heavy rain, including parts of the Kinder Morgan Crude and Condensate (KMCC) pipeline system from the Eagle Ford shale in south Texas to the Houston area. The shut downs also include parts of the Double Eagle pipeline, some natural gas storage facilities and multiple compressor stations on parts of Tenenssee Gas pipeline (TGP), Natural Gas pipeline (NGPL) and the Texas intrastate systems.
TGP declared a force majeure for 25 August near station 1 in Agua Dulce, Texas, and was planning to shut stations 1 and 9 and evacuate workers.
Enterprise Products Partners, which operates several pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and other infrastructure on the Texas Gulf coast, could not immediately say if any services had been affected.
