NuStar Energy LP is expanding its pipeline capacity so it can deliver an estimated increase of 6,000 barrels per day of refined product from Amarillo, Texas, to Albuquerque, according to a recent news release. The company plans to partner with Phillips 66 Co. (NYSE: PSX), which jointly owns the pipeline with NuStar, on the project.

The pipeline from Amarillo to Albuquerque is 292 miles long and has an estimated total pipeline capacity of 34,400 barrels per day, according to NuStar. That refined product comes in the form of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, according to the company’s release. The expansion project is expected to be completed by mid-2022.

NuStar (NYSE: NS) spokesman Chris Cho said the company won’t disclose the cost of the project.

Aside from expanding the pipeline capacity, NuStar plans to upgrade its pumps to more modern electric pumps and create a “modern, efficient, diesel-driven pump” and replace two diesel-driven pump stations to help reduce emissions and allow for a higher flow of refined product, it said in the release.

The midstream energy company recently completed a project in the southwest region when it reactivated an idle pump station in Colorado on its Colorado Springs Pipeline system – which allowed for an additional 6,000 barrels per day of refined product to flow through the areas of Colorado Springs and Denver.

“The Albuquerque Pipeline upgrades will help ensure ample refined product supply for the market which has lost production due to a recent refinery closure in the state,” NuStar President and CEO Brad Barron said in a statement. “Working with Phillips 66 Partners, we are excited that we can provide this additional capacity for our shippers and the region while also achieving the environmental benefits this project provides.”

The Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) refinery in Gallup closed in August, according to previous Albuquerque Business First reporting. Cho said that’s what Barron referred to when he mentioned a refinery closing in the state.

NuStar plans to announce its first quarter earnings in early May, according to a separate news release. The company is based in San Antonio and has around 10,000 miles of pipeline and 73 terminal and storage facilities that store and disperse its refined product, crude oil and specialty liquids throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Source: https://tankterminals.com/