EPIC Crude Holdings LP said on Aug. 19 that interim crude service on the 24-inch EPIC Y-Grade pipeline has begun, delivering crude from Crane, Texas, to various terminals in Corpus Christi and Ingleside, Texas.

During interim crude service, EPIC will have the ability to deliver up to 400,000 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) to multiple terminals and refiners in the Corpus Christi, Texas, area. EPIC will reserve 10% of the pipeline’s capacity for walk-up shippers during interim service.

“Providing interim service adds much-needed takeaway capacity in the Permian Basin, which supports continued development and highlights the strategic value of our assets,” said Phillip Mezey, CEO of EPIC. “I would like to thank our employees, customers and contractors that enabled EPIC to provide this service to our shippers and the basin.”

Construction of EPIC’s 30-inch permanent crude line is well underway, with an overall completion rate of over 50%. The project remains on budget and the mainline is still expected to be completed in January 2020. The crude oil pipeline will have an initial capacity of 600,000 bbl/d, with throughput anticipated to begin ramping during the first quarter of 2020. Upon commencing operations on the crude oil pipeline, EPIC will transition the Y-Grade Pipeline back to NGL service in first-quarter 2020.

Additionally, the first EPIC crude export dock is scheduled to be in service before the end of the year and will be capable of loading Aframax-sized vessels. EPIC’s second crude export dock is also under construction and has a targeted in-service date during the second quarter of 2020. Once the second dock is complete, EPIC will have the capability to load a Suezmax vessel from its waterborne terminal.