* Shutdown will stop pipeline's flow of Gulf of Mexico crudeto Texas
* Reversed line to be operational later in 2013 (Adds detail about reversal project and types of crude to betransported, paragraphs 4-13)
HOUSTON, June 28 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc will shut the southeast Texas-to-Louisiana portion of itsHouma-to-Houston crude oil pipeline in August to finishreversing the line to move Texas crude to Louisiana markets, aspokeswoman said on Friday.
The company has no specific restart date for the portionthat stretches from Port Neches and Nederland, Texas, to Houmaand Clovelly, Louisiana, other than sometime later this year,spokeswoman Destin Singleton said.
Shell Pipeline Co is reversing the line, which had carriedGulf of Mexico crude to Texas, to provide Louisiana markets withpipeline access to inland U.S. crude, which is cheaper thanglobal crudes. Once fully reversed, it will be renamedHouston-to-Houma.
The initial phase of the reversal of the so-called Ho-HoPipeline on a 20-inch diameter section from Houston to PortNeches and Nederland was finished in January to deliver crudefrom connecting pipelines and terminals in East Houston tosoutheast Texas. That portion will continue operating while therest of the line is shut to finish the reversal, Singleton said.
The portions of the pipeline involved in the second phase ofreversal are bigger with higher capacities, Shell said.
The 22-inch portion running from Port Neches and Nederlandto Houma has an ultimate capacity of 375,000 bpd. The 24-inchsegment running from Houma to Clovelly has an ultimate capacityof 500,000 bpd, the company said.
A third phase of the project will add 75,000 bpd of capacityto the section from Houston to Port Neches and Nederland for atotal capacity of 250,000 bpd, depending on the type of crudeshipped. That phase is slated to be finished by early 2014.
The crudes to be moved from Texas to Louisiana in thereversed pipeline include output from the Permian Basin in WestTexas, the Eagle Ford shale oil play in South Texas and growingcrude supply at the U.S. crude futures hub in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Other logistics systems, either operating or underconstruction, can or will move those crudes to the Houston areawhere Shell's reversed line can pick them up.
Shell also is planning another pipeline, Westward Ho, toinitially carry up to 300,000 bpd of crude from St. James,Louisiana, to refiners just across the Texas state line. Ifapproved, that pipeline is slated to start up in 2015.
MARS CRUDE
In the U.S. cash crude market, Mars sour
August barrels of Mars traded on Friday at $1.60 over thebenchmark U.S. crude futures, while Light Louisiana sweet
A month ago July Mars barrels were trading at nearly $4 overthe benchmark futures. (Reporting By Kristen Hays in Houston and Robert Gibbons in NewYork; Editing by David Gregorio)
