Colonial Announces Expansions, Discusses Long-range System Upgrades

ATLANTA, Ga. — Colonial Pipeline today announced recent pipeline system improvements have netted an additional capacity of 24,000 barrels per day. This is the first step in a series of upgrades designed to give Colonial’s customers better service and provide more fuel for consumers. 

The completed upgrades, along with a second set of capacity upgrades to be finished this summer, will add about 100,000 barrels to Colonial’s daily capacity between Greensboro, N.C. and the New York Harbor. This will increase Colonial’s capacity into the New York Harbor market by 14 percent. 

Also, Colonial is proposing projects to support Gulf Coast refiners by increasing the capacity of Colonial mainlines between Houston and Greensboro, N.C. These planned projects would add more than 140,000 barrels per day of capacity to Colonial’s southern mainlines, and would be implemented over the next 12 – 24 months. 

The increased flow rates already achieved, as well as those planned, are primarily being accomplished through pump and motor upgrades and the use of drag-reducing agents (DRA) that improve the efficiency of product flow. 

“These are important and timely improvements,” Colonial CEO and President Tim Felt said. ​“Our customers are looking for a safe, efficient and reliable way of filling their terminals and serving U.S. consumers. This should help by providing our customers a more cost-effective method to supply more fuel to consumers in their markets.” 

Since late 2010, high customer demand for space on Colonial Pipeline resulted in allocations, or customers receiving a pro-rated portion of their original order. These improvements will help relieve allocations in the short term while better addressing customers’ long-term needs. 

The Colonial Pipeline connects refineries primarily in the Gulf Coast with customers serving markets across the southern and eastern United States. Every day, Colonial delivers 2.3 million barrels, or about 100 million gallons, of refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, home heating oil and fuels for the U.S. military. For more information, visit www.colpipe.com