>Obama nixed pipeline aimed at boosting US supplies…
Oil Back At $100: Higher Prices Here To Stay As Pipelines Ease Cushing Oversupply
Despite a U.S. economy that moves forward at snail’s pace and Europe teetering on the brink of collapse, oil prices surged past $100 a barrel in New York Wednesday. Feeding the price action was Enbridge’s acquisition of the Seaway Pipeline from ConocoPhillips and its announcement that it would reverse the pipeline’s direction, easing oversupply caused by a bottleneck in Cushing, Okla., the national price point for crude oil.
Reversing the Seaway Pipeline would bring an additional 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the Gulf Coast, where ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, BP, and others have refineries, Enbridge said. The company bought Conoco’s 50% interest in the Pipeline for $1.15 billion on Wednesday, and along with now partners Enterprise Products, are expecting the reversal to occur by the second quarter of 2012. By early 2013, they expect the capacity of the reversed Seaway Pipeline to reach 400,000 barrels a day following pump station additions and modifications.
