<article><p class="lead">Plains All American Pipeline, one of the largest US midstream companies, expects commercial oil storage in the US to fill by mid-May as demand has plummeted because of efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. </p><p>Plains expects US refinery demand for crude will decline by at least 30pc, or about 5mn b/d, and crude exports will drop by 1mn b/d, according to a filing yesterday to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's primary oil and gas regulator. Plains made the estimates in late March. </p><p>The Texas Railroad Commission is planning <a href="http://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2092776">a virtual hearing</a> on 14 April to discuss curtailing the state's oil production to help balance the market in the wake of the crash in crude prices and a sharp drop in demand because of the coronavirus.</p><p>Plains' letter to the commission was meant to inform regulators of current market conditions and did not specify whether the company supports a statewide curtailment. </p><p>Plains asked producer customers last month to proactively manage their exposure by taking steps to reduce or curtail production "in a manner that was best suited for their assets rather than waiting for storage capacity to be filled and being forced to shut-in production." </p><p>Plains Marketing buys about 900,000 b/d in the Permian Basin. </p><p>The Texas Railroad Commission meeting is in response to a request by two shale producers, Pioneer Natural Resources and Parsley Energy who said that current "extraordinary circumstances" have caused "the largest imbalance in history" in global supply and demand.</p><p>ExxonMobil and Occidental have come out <a href="http://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2095287">strongly against</a> the idea of Texas oil production cuts, as have several business groups including the Texas Association of Business and the Texas Association of Manufacturers. </p><p>Meanwhile, some smaller producers have filed in favor of a curtailment. </p><p>Plains said earlier this week it is cutting capital expenditures for 2020-21 by one third, or $750mn, the latest US midstream company to pull back spending in response to the crashing oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.</p><p class="bylines"><i>By Eunice Bridges </i></p></article>
