Texas Companies Propose Crude Oil Pipeline

• Two Texas-based companies are partnering a crude oil pipeline proposed to run nearly 45 miles from Memphis to Marshall County, Mississippi.
• The Byhalia Connection pipeline is a joint venture between Plains All American Pipeline and Valero and would be constructed and operated by a subsidiary of Plains. It would connect the two existing crude oil pipelines in the area: Diamond Pipeline and the Capline Pipeline.

The Diamond provides the Valero Memphis Refinery with crude oil to produce gasoline and jet fuels used in eight states, including Tennessee and Mississippi. The Capline runs between central Illinois and the Gulf Coast.

According to Karen Rugaard, manager of communications and public affairs for Plains All American, connecting the two pipelines increases the efficiency of crude oil transportation in the U.S. while helping to secure American energy independence.

“In the last five years or so, crude oil production and energy production in the U.S. [have] significantly and dramatically increased,” Rugaard said. “The U.S. is able to produce crude oil more efficiently than we used to. There is a greater need to be able to transfer it, so we’ve got to get it to places where it can be refined and then delivered to the customers. … This is an opportunity by constructing this 45-mile connection to have a significant impact on the connectivity of the nation’s energy infrastructure system.”

The company is still determining the final route of the pipeline, which will include feedback from landowners, regulatory and permitting agencies, community leaders, and other affected parties. Rugaard said the potential route has changed through dialogue with the public. The route will begin at the Valero Memphis Refinery and end in Byhalia.

The Valero Memphis Refinery is one of the largest manufacturers in the Memphis area, with 311 employees.