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NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - Volumes on BP Midstream Partners
LP onshore U.S. oil pipelines began to fall late in the
first quarter as demand destruction caused by the coronavirus
pandemic began to take hold, officials with the company said on
Friday.
Flows on BP Midstream pipelines are expected to fall further
in the second quarter due to the virus, which has cut about 30%
out of global fuel demand.
"The impacts on throughput are likely to be even more
apparent across our portfolio in the second quarter as a result
of COVID-19 and broader market volatility," Craig Coburn, chief
financial officer at BP Midstream Partners, said on a company
earnings call.
Total pipeline gross flows in the first quarter were more
than 1.7 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), broadly flat
compared with the fourth quarter, the company said.
Higher volumes on BP Midstream's 135,000-bpd Diamondback
pipeline, which transports diluent to Canada, helped offset
lower flows on the 475,000-bpd BP2 pipeline, which ships crude
oil to BP's Whiting, Indiana refinery.
Diamondback got a boost from peak winter demand, while BP2
suffered some decline in activity due to increased shipments on
Enbridge Inc's Mainline pipeline system, company
officials said.
The master limited partnership, formed by BP's U.S. pipeline
unit, declined to give guidance for pipeline volumes going
forward due to uncertainty around the economic effects of the
coronavirus, company officials said.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
