US Gulf Poseidon pipeline at full capacity soon: Update

Updates Poseidon restart date in second paragraph.

US midstream operator Genesis expects normal operations to resume soon on its 350,000 b/d Poseidon oil pipeline connecting several deepwater Gulf of Mexico fields to shore, following a restoration of power onshore in Louisiana and safety checks.

The Poseidon pipeline has been running at "constrained levels" since 12 September, mostly because of the lack of power at third-party onshore facilities in Louisiana following Hurricane Ida, but power is expected to be restored later today or tomorrow, Genesis said. Poseidon comes ashore at Houma, Louisiana, which was hit hard by the storm.

Genesis' 500,000 b/d Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS) has been running since 3 September and is currently shipping some production that would typically flow on the Poseidon line. CHOPS carries Southern Green Canyon (SGC) crude to the Texas coast.

In the second-quarter, the average daily volume on Poseidon was 265,000 b/d while the average daily volume on CHOPS was 205,000 b/d.

By Amanda Smith