-Plains All American today announced plans to build two new crude and condensate pipelines in the Permian Basin. The 32-mile Avalon Extension pipeline will carry up to 100,000 barrels per day of crude from Loving County, Texas, to Culberson County, Texas. The 60-mile State Line pipeline will carry up to 150,000 barrels per day of batched crude and condensate from Culberson County to Wink, Texas. The Avalon Extension line is expected to in full service in September, and the State Line pipeline will be complete by the middle of next year.
-Corrosion-induced pipeline incidents are down 76% since 1999, according to a new report by the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL). AOPL also said 99.999% of crude oil and petroleum product barrels delivered reach their destination safely. Most barrels released in 2013 were caused natural or outside forces or third parties, though third-party-caused incidents are down 78% since 1999. AOPL said pipeline operators would complete a set of industry-wide safety and emergency prevention and planning standards this year.
-A freight train carrying ethanol derailed in Iowa Wednesday morning, sparking a fire and spilling ethanol into the Mississippi River. Via the Associated Press, the fire has been extinguished, but authorities are working with Canadian Pacific to monitor environmental impact and transfer fuel from the derailed cars to empty cars. No injuries were reported.
-The refinery workers’ strike that began Sunday will have a limited impact on fuel production at refineries, Bloomberg reports. An analyst at Wells Fargo noted that refineries are “highly automated operations” that will be able to run with little disruption in the days and weeks to come. Turnaround season, however, could put a burden on the remaining workers at the refineries affected by the strike due to a greater need for manpower.
-A federal anti-fraud and reporting investigation that targets BP is related to crude shipped on Enbridge’s Mainline oil pipeline system, Reuters reports. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission notified BP in November it would recommend an enforcement action against the British company for possible violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.
