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HOUSTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell saidon Wednesday that the reversed Houston-to-Houma pipeline wasbeing filled with crude in anticipation of a mid-Decemberstartup to ship a glut of light sweet oil from Texas toLouisiana.
The line is operational and preparation includes crudelinefill with "product flowing and movement," spokeswoman DestinSingleton said. "Basically getting ready for startup."
The pipeline is expected to help relieve a supply bottleneckthat is emerging in the Houston area as crude oil from U.S.shale fields floods the Gulf Coast.
It will carry oil from the Permian Basin in West Texas, theEagle Ford shale oil play in South Texas, and growing suppliesfrom Cushing to Louisiana refineries.
The line used to send crude from Louisiana to Texas. Thecompany shut an existing pipeline, which initially ran fromHouma to Houston, in August to complete the reversal.
The company on Tuesday submitted tariffs with the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission for all sections of the reversalproject effective on Thursday this week.
However, it was unclear when the line would start up asShell reiterated that it would be operational by year-end.
On Wednesday, Singleton explained that in anticipation ofstartup, the company must file pipeline tariffs to the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission that include a date listed. Thecompany also needs to manage shipper expectations, she said.
"For our shippers, we have to set expectations of achievingnormal operations as soon as possible," Singleton said. "Theline is currently 'operational' but not scheduled for startupuntil mid-December."
The Ho-Ho reversal project includes a 200,000barrels-per-day pipeline that will run from Houston to PortNeches, Texas; a 360,000 bpd line from Port Neches to Houma,Louisiana; a 500,000 bpd line from Houma to the LouisianaOffshore Oil Port (LOOP) hub in Clovelly, Louisiana; and a300,000 bpd line from Houma to St. James, Louisiana. (Reporting By Kristen Hays in Houston and Selam Gebrekidan inNew York; Editing by Terry Wade and Leslie Gevirtz)
