NuStar is weighing adding the capability to handle railed bitumen at its crude-by-rail facilities in St James, Louisiana, and could look re-export those barrels.
"We have more than adequate dock facilities to load up to Suezmax-size vessels," said senior vice president of marketing and business development Danny Oliver in an interview with Argus.
Throughputs are "way off" at the 280,000 b/d facility lately amid narrow Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS)-West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spreads. The LLS-WTI spread is now widening, which could route trains back to Louisiana. Demand for crude-by-rail in St James will likely "come and go," Oliver said.
The company is fully leased in storage at St James, and could expand if needed. More crude will be coming to St James should Energy Transfer Partners decide to build an extension of its Bakken pipeline from Nederland, Texas.
Lower crude prices have slowed growth in the Eagle Ford, but the company's pipeline system throughputs recently hit a record, suggesting growth is still happening, just at a slower pace than before, Oliver said.
Low crude prices could also spur asset purchases at the company. NuStar is interested in assets that would "help us further expand our positions in the Eagle Ford and even some other plays," Oliver said. "We are very actively looking at individual assets that would complement our existing footprint."
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