Crude

Because of “high customer demand” from Permian Basin producers, Epic Crude Oil Pipeline is expanding the size of its system and moving up the start date, with expectations to begin transport to South Texas by 3Q2019, at least three months sooner than originally anticipated.

Despite souring Sino-U.S. trade relations, executives with two state-owned Chinese companies reportedly plans to honor agreements with their American counterparts, including an $83.7 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop shale gas and chemical manufacturing projects in West Virginia.

BridgeTexas Pipeline Co. LLC, which is able to transport up to 400,000 b/d of crude oil from the Permian Basin to the Texas coast, on Tuesday gained a Canadian pension plan as a partner, after 50-50 owners Plains All American Pipeline LLC and Magellan Midstream Partners LP agreed to sell a half-stake for nearly $1.44 billion.

The U.S. port district of Houston-Galveston, which extends to Corpus Christi, for the first time ever in April began exporting more crude oil than it imported, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

The Sino-U.S. trade war continued to widen this week as China was preparing to impose a 25% tariff on $16 billion worth of domestic imports but not on crude oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG). The announcement came one day after the Trump administration unveiled a similar tariff on a range of Chinese goods.

Energy indicators are mixed, but there’s a positive overall picture for the industry, the Dallas office of the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) said in its monthly report.

The Texas upstream oil and gas economy continued to expand through the first half of 2018, with the Texas Petro Index (TPI) increasing in June for the 19th straight month to 203.4 from 200.7 in May and up 19.4% from the year-ago score of 170.3.

Only liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports can prevent a decades-long Canadian production slump in retreat from competition by low-cost U.S. supplies, said a state-of-the-industry review issued Wednesday.

Enterprise Products Partners LP, to leverage booming onshore oil production, said Tuesday it may build an export terminal offshore Texas to expand deliveries to the largest international markets in Asia and Europe.