Energy infrastructure that can keep pace with growing oil and gas production trends is an essential U.S. need, an American Petroleum Institute director said.

Robin Rorick, the director of midstream and industry operations at the trade group, testified before the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. The pace at which oil and gas production is accelerating, he said, has implications beyond U.S. borders and it's the transit capacity, from pipelines to railcars, that facilitate forward momentum.

"Ensuring we have a robust energy infrastructure system that keeps pace with growing production and demand is essential to helping provide American families and businesses with reliable access to affordable energy," his testimony read.

The midstream component of the energy sector relates to transit issues. A recent report from IHS Markit found that infrastructure challenges in the Permian shale basin, the most lucrative oil reservoir in the Lower 48, means there's a big gap between production levels and takeaway capacity.

Output from the Permian shale oil basin in the southern United States will account for 60 percent of world total production growth by 2023, analysis finds. The United States is now an oil exporter, though infrastructure necessary to move the oil to the market can't keep up with production trends.

In its report, IHS found it was the lack of infrastructure, not the lack of spending on exploration and production, that presented a growth challenge for U.S. shale.

Elsewhere, the Office of State Planning and Budgeting in Colorado said oil production there was holding at near-record highs, supported by relatively higher crude oil prices. Pipeline limitations near the main U.S. oil storage hub in Cushing, Okla., however, are expected to constrain further growth of Coloradan oil production in the near term, its report read.

Last week, the Port of Corpus Christi secured nearly $23 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help deepen and widen the waterway. Most of the U.S. port infrastructure can't handle the largest types of oil tankers, dubbed Very Large Crude Carriers, which are the most economic for crude oil transportation. Without improvements, ports could be the next bottleneck for the United States.

Rorick told House leaders that as much as $1.3 trillion in investments in U.S. energy infrastructure may be necessary through 2035.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

South Sudan foes set to meet after two years
Addis Ababa (AFP) June 20, 2018
The two figures at the centre of the civil war that has ravaged South Sudan are scheduled to meet on Wednesday for the first time in nearly two years. Ethiopia, which has helped broker the meeting, says rebel leader Riek Machar, who fled South Sudan in July 2016, is expected to meet face-to-face with the country's president, Salva Kiir. Machar arrived in the Ethiopian capital Wednesday morning for the talks, Menasseh Zindo, a senior official in his Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in Oppositio ... read more