PIPELINES WILL SOON BE AT CAPACITY WITHOUT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
Christopher Charleston of Bloomberg recently published an article regarding the shrinking capacity of crude oil pipelines. According to his reporting, the oil pipelines running through Corpus Christi and the Permian Basin could be up to 95% full by 2025. Pipeline infrastructure volume may soon become a crisis if investments are not made in expanding energy infrastructure. Since 2020, the demand for crude oil worldwide has steadily increased, with that trend projected to continue throughout 2024.
Overloaded pipelines create domestic “pockets of oversupply”, as Charleston puts it – where there is oil surplus in some areas of the country while other areas face shortages. Pipeline ‘traffic’ also will hinder our ability to export our energy by blocking access to key export ports. This can contribute to the world oil shortage – pushing up the cost of oil and gas globally. The implications of crude oil supply caps due to overloaded pipelines in the U.S. are global, especially when occurring in a region that accounts for nearly half of all U.S. oil. Russian energy reliance will continue while Chinese oil demand will grow further.
The global crude oil market relies on American production. It is hypocritical for the U.S. government to support oil and gas pipeline development in Europe to transport. Russian energy and yet refuse to build more domestic pipelines, which would help reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy. Investments in domestic crude oil pipelines are vital to ensuring American consumers – across the country – have access to affordable energy and promoting global energy security.