U.S. oil export to increase through Houston energy provider's conversion plan

HOUSTON, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- In the coming decade, the United States is expected to increasingly export shale oil to the international market through its Houston terminal, a Houston-based analyst said Friday.

The trend may exert pressure on oil exploration and oil prices, Jo Zhao, a senior consultant of the consulting company The Oil World, told Xinhua.

He was referring to the the plan that Enterprise Products Partners announced Wednesday to convert one of its natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines from western Texas' Permian Basin to the Texas Gulf Coast for crude oil service.

The conversion, to be completed in the first half of 2020, is expected to provide the Enterprise with a total crude oil pipeline capacity of over 650,000 barrels per day from the Permian Basin to Enterprise's crude oil hub in the Houston area.

A.J. "Jim" Teague, chief executive officer of the general partner of Enterprise, said Wednesday in a news release that the repurposing of an NGL pipeline into crude oil service is an example of system flexibility and innovation of response to customers' needs while increasing distributable cash flow and value of partnership.

In early November, 2 million barrels of crude oil per day were delivered from ports along Texas Gulf Coast, setting a record in U.S. oil export.

Enterprise Products Partners is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. Enditem