Plains All American LP remains in maintenance mode for now, but it has plenty of operational flexibility to accommodate production growth from the Permian Basin that may arise following the rapid uptick in oil prices.

Plains logo

West Texas Intermediate crude is nearing $60/bbl, but CEO Willie Chiang expects to see only “modest growth” out of the West Texas/southeastern New Mexico play this year, “probably not to the extent of what the flat price infers based on history.”

Instead, the CEO and his management team believe “that there is going to be more discipline from the producers in bringing free cash back to their shareholders or taking debt down.”

Executive Vice President Jeremy Goebel, who handles Commercial operations, joined Chiang on the fourth quarter earnings call...