Weekend Update – Colonial Pipeline Still Offline West of Louisiana

Colonial Pipeline Re-Opening Date Slips

The Colonial Pipeline remains offline west of Louisiana, missing the Sunday night target for restarting the Houston to Louisiana segment of the pipeline. According to their latest update, the pipeline expects the diesel line to resume operations Monday, and the gasoline segment will resume on Tuesday. 

Refining capacity shut down by Harvey remains at 3.2 million barrels per day (MMbpd), compared to the peak of 5.2 MMbpd offline. Many refineries are currently going through restart procedures, though some, such as Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery and Exxon’s Beaumont refinery, may take longer to bring back online.

Texas Market Updates

Dallas: With the Magellan Pipeline coming back online, we expect the worst of the supply shortage to begin improving around Sept 5-6. However,  supply will remain tight for the next 2-3 weeks due to Port Arthur refinery being down.

Houston:  The Magellan terminal is partially operational, helping to alleviate (somewhat) the long lines at the North Houston rack. Limited supply continues to plague the area, and lines, though shorter, remain long.

San Antonio: Very limited product exists in the San Antonio market. The CITGO’s CASA pipeline has come back online, which will help supply the area by Sept 6-7. In the meantime, nearly all deliveries are coming by long haul.

Corpus Christi:  Supply is continuing to improve, and is being shipped to other areas as necessary.

Southeast Market Update

Colonial’s gasoline and diesel lines are up and running east of Louisiana, though not accepting product form Houston yet. Diesel shipments are running on a 7 day turn, better than previously expected.  The main concern is gas supply, particularly for GA, NC, and SC markets. The next gasoline batch from Colonial is not due until Sept 10. The Plantation Pipeline, which also supplies the Southeast, is operational and running normally, but its capacity is significantly lower than that of Colonial.

Market Summary

Mansfield continues to work around the clock to help our customers fuel during the storm. If you have any questions or need to secure supply in the Gulf area or in the Southeast along the Colonial Pipeline, please reach out to your sales rep or customer relationship manager for more information about ordering product. Please place orders 48-72 hours in advance whenever possible, to allow time to secure supply and freight during the shortage.

Code Red (Areas with significantly reduced or unavailable supply)

• Austin, TX
• Beaumont, TX
• Buda, TX
• Dallas/Ft Worth, TX
• Houston, TX
• Port Arthur, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Waco, TX
• Colonial Pipeline Markets (Mississippi through Maryland)

Code Orange (Areas with limited supply availability)

• Corpus Christi, TX
• Edinburgh, TX
• El Paso, TX
• Harlingen, TX
• Odessa, TX
• Lake Charles, LA
• Baton Rouge, LA