Oryx Midstream Services II LLC is testing support for more crude oil transportation services from the Permian Basin’s Delaware formation.

Operating subsidiaries are holding a joint binding open season through Aug. 9 to gauge support for a previously announced regional crude oil gathering and trunk line transportation system to serve the liquids-rich Delaware, which runs through West Texas and into southeastern New Mexico.

“The new system extension and storage footprint allow us to provide crude oil segregation and connectivity for our customers in the Texas and New Mexico areas of the northern Delaware Basin to multiple takeaway options, providing the flexibility and market opportunities they need to maximize the value of their production,” said Oryx CEO Brett Wiggs.

Last September the Midland, TX-based operator began building a 220-mile pipeline system to serve the Delaware, with initial capacity of up to 400,000 b/d. Based on customer demand, Oryx expanded the scope of the original project to include additional capacity and a larger footprint across the Delaware.

The new system would run 400 miles, with about 650,000 b/d of throughput capacity and more than 1.5 million bbl of storage capacity. The system would serve New Mexico’s Lea and Eddy counties and the West Texas counties of Loving, Reeves, Ward, Winkler and Culberson.

The regional transportation pipeline, set to be fully commissioned later this year, would connect Oryx’s Carlsbad station to the Crane and Midland market hubs. The entire system is expected to be completed before mid-2019.

When completed and combined with assets that are operated by Oryx Southern Delaware Oil Gathering and Transport LLC, the midstream operator’s Delaware system capacity is forecast to exceed 850,000 b/d.