Capline Oil Pipeline

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Capline Oil Pipeline is an operating crude oil pipeline in the USA. Prior to 2020, it was the largest crude oil pipeline by capacity in the USA, but the flow direction was then reversed, decreasing the overall transport capacity.

Location

Originally, the pipeline started at the St. James PAA Oil Terminal in St. James, Louisiana, USA terminating at the Patoka Oil Terminal Hub in Patoka, Illinois, USA. As of June 2020, a reversal project was reportedly underway, reversing the flow so product would be transported from Pakota, Illinois to St. James, Louisiana.

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Project details

• Operator: Marathon Pipe Line LLC
• Owner: Capline Pipeline Company LLC
• Parent company: Plains GP Holdings LP [54%]; BP plc; Marathon Petroleum
• Capacity: 300,000 barrels per day
• Length: 632 miles
• Diameter: 40-inches
• Status: Operating
• Start year: 2005, 2021

Marathon Pipe Line LLC is the pipeline's operator. Capline Pipeline Company LLC is the pipeline’s owner, and of this company, the majority owner is a Plains All American Pipeline subsidiary, and minority owners are a Marathon Petroleum Corporation subsidiary and BP Oil Pipeline Company.

Note Plains GP Holdings LP is the parent company of Plains All American Pipeline, and BP plc is the parent company of BP Oil Pipeline Company.

Background

The 40-inch Capline Oil Pipeline spans 631 miles, transporting crude oil and condensate from Louisiana to the Midwest. Its original capacity was 256,000 barrels per day. BP uses the pipeline to supply its Indiana refinery.

In April 2016, Marathon Chief Executive Gary Heminger said that the pipeline would likely be reversed to transport heavy Canadian crude to Louisiana, United States once oil prices recover. In 2016, Capline transported only 360,000 barrels per day, about a third of its 1,100,000 barrels per day capacity.

In May 2017, Plains All American told investors the pipeline would be "idled as redundant pipeline capacity" as new competing pipes are place in service, and "shut down" by 2021.

Expansion projects

Patoka-to-Catlettsburg Expansion

The expansion led to a capacity increase of 14,000 barrels per day, from 256,000 barrels per day to 270,000 barrels per day. It has a 20-inch diameter from Patoka to Owensboro, Kentucky (140 miles), and a 24-inch diameter from Owensboro to Catlettsburg, Ohio (266 miles).

The expansion projects runs from Patoka, Illinois to Catlettsburg, Ohio.

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• Operator: Marathon Pipe Line LLC
• Owner: Capline Pipeline Company LLC
• Parent company: Plains GP Holdings LP [54%]; BP plc; Marathon Petroleum
• Capacity: 14,000 barrels per day
• Length: 406 miles
• Diameter: 20 inches, 24 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start year: 2013

Marathon Pipe Line LLC is the pipeline's operator. Capline Pipeline Company LLC is the pipeline’s owner, and of this company, the majority owner is a Plains All American Pipeline subsidiary, and minority owners are a Marathon Petroleum Corporation subsidiary and BP Oil Pipeline Company.

Note Plains GP Holdings LP is the parent company of Plains All American Pipeline, and BP plc is the parent company of BP Oil Pipeline Company.

Reversal

• Operator: Marathon Pipe Line LLC
• Owner: Capline Pipeline Company LLC
• Parent company: Plains GP Holdings LP [54%]; BP plc; Marathon Petroleum
• Capacity: 1,300,000 barrels per day
  • Initial capacity when operational: 300,000 barrels per day
• Length: 0 new kilometers
• Diameter:
• Status: Operating
• Start year: 2021

According to June 2020 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Capline Oil Pipeline was in the process of being reversed at that time. The original reversal capacity was 1,300,000 barrels per day with a northward flow from Louisiana to Illinois. Following the reversal, the initial capacity will be 300,000 barrels per day with a southward flow from Illinois to Louisiana.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the reversal project was completed in quarter 2 (Q2) of 2020 and became operational in Q4 2021. The initial capacity as of January 2022 was 300,000 barrels per day.