Environment and Energy
October 30, 2018
Permian's Bottleneck is Steel's Opportunity as Pipeline Projects Multiply
Written by Tim Triplett
With oil and gas prices rising, the nation’s shale plays, particularly the Permian Basin, are struggling with costly bottlenecks as drillers try to pump more crude and natural gas than the existing pipelines can handle. Energy companies are committing billions to new and expanded pipelines over the next several years, which represents a major opportunity for steel suppliers.
Total production in the Permian has been compounded by a boom in rig activity and improvements in well productivity, reports Pipe Logix, an energy market research firm in Tulsa, Okla. The Permian rig count has quadrupled in two years. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that the oil production resulting from each active rig has risen 10-fold since 2007.
