Enterprise Products Partners LP said on July 28 volume across its crude oil pipelines rose 5% in the second quarter on the back of a recovery in demand as the global economy continues to reopen following COVID-19 lockdowns.
U.S. gasoline and diesel fuel demand has nearly recovered to 2019 levels after the plunge in travel and business activity during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Enterprise said overall pipeline volume rose to 6.4 million bbl/d, slightly below the 6.7 million bbl/d in 2019. Total crude oil pipeline transportation volume rose to 2 million bbl/d in the second quarter from 1.9 million bbl/d in the first quarter and a year earlier.
“The global inventory excesses that came with the global pandemic, for the most part, has been exhausted,” co-CEO A. J. Teague said in the company’s post-earnings call, adding he expects recovery to be a very strong extended cycle.
While U.S. producers have been adding rigs and boosting output, publicly-listed companies have been cautious on production growth as shareholders favor capital discipline and returns in the form of dividend and buybacks.
Liquid volume handled by the company’s marine terminals was 1.6 million bbl/d for the second quarter, lagging 1.9 million bbl/d in 2019, primarily due to weakness in crude oil and refined product exports.
Strong prices and lower inventories at the Cushing oil storage hub in Oklahoma are signaling that volume needs to stay in the country at least for now, Teague said.
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