Energy Transfer LP Shuts Ruptured Oil Pipeline in Permian
Energy Transfer LP shuttered its Centurion Pipeline on Monday after it was struck by a road worker, the pipeline company said in an email to Bloomberg.
Energy Transfer LP acquired the pipeline earlier this year when it acquired the previous owner, Lotus Midstream for $1.4 billion.
The Centurion Pipeline runs from New Mexico, ending in Cushing, Oklahoma, with laterals that extend to Crane, McCamey, and Colorado City in Texas. As of Monday afternoon, Energy Transfer LP was working “as quickly as possible to stop” the oil leaking from the pipeline.
“We have shut in the line, however, there is residual product coming out of the line. We are working quickly as possible to stop the leak. We have dispatched specialized crews to contain the product that is out of the line and begin the cleanup process. All regulatory notifications have been made. We will provide updates as information becomes available,” Energy Transfer said in a note.
It was not clear when the pipeline repairs would be complete and when the pipeline would resume normal flows. The whole Centurion pipeline system acquired from the Lotus deal has a capacity of almost 1.5 million bpd.
The leak happened in a segment of pipe on the north side of Oklahoma City, about 70 miles southwest of Cushing, Oklahoma, known as the pipeline crossroads of the world. Cushing is the largest onshore oil storage hub in the world.
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Analysts have been watching the crude oil inventory levels at Cushing, Oklahoma, for weeks as the levels in storage at the facility have been falling on a fairly steady trajectory since June, with current levels now below 23 million barrels.
It is Cushing’s lowest level since the summer of 2022.
Some of the leaking oil managed to reach storm drains, the Oklahoma City Fire Department said in an email to Bloomberg, adding that no one had been injured during the incident, and no one was evacuated from the area.
