Shell completes Ho-Ho pipeline reversal

Earlier this week, Royal Dutch Shell, the largest oil company in Europe, announced that is has completed Phase 2 of its project to reverse the flow direction of the Houma-to-Houston (Ho-Ho pipeline).

The Ho-Ho pipeline originally carried oil from Louisiana to Texas. In January, Shell reversed the segment from Houston to Port Neches and in August, shut the line from Houma to Houston to complete the reversal.

The system now provides US Gulf Coast refineries a new route to access cheap crude supplies, providing pipeline access cheap crude supplies, providing pipeline access to additional sources of the growing crude production from the inland oil plays in the Eagle Ford, Bakken and other shale regions.

It will also relieve a supply glut that is emerging on the Texas Coast as more pipelines ship crude away from the US Midwest.

Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the project will add pump stations near Houston and Port Neches to increase capacity of the Texas to Louisiana pipeline segments (20 in. and 22 in.) to approximately 250 000 bpd and 365 000 bpd of crude oil, respectively. These capacities assume a medium crude type and standard batching.

The final phase will be completed in early 2014. Last week, Shell submitted tariffs with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that have now come into effect.

Edited from various sources by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/19122013/shell_completes_ho_ho_pipeline_reversal/