ESS Completes Diamond Pipeline Project
Valero Gets Sweet Crude Quick Transport to Tennessee
There’s nothing quite like that feeling of accomplishment during the final tie in weld on a pipeline, and Energy Services South (ESS), Valero Energy Corp. and Diamond Pipeline LLC got to experience it after completion of the 440 mile, 20-inch Diamond Pipeline project last week.
ESS is a PLH Group oil and gas infrastructure company, while Diamond Pipeline LLC is a joint venture between Plains All American Pipeline and the San Antonio, TX based Valero, also the primary stakeholder in the pipeline project.
This $900 million pipeline stretches from Cushing, OK to Memphis, TN transporting 200,000 barrels of domestic sweet crude oil per day from the Permian Basin, Bakken and Mid-Continent regions to Valero’s Memphis refinery which produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for Memphis, Arkansas and several other states in the region. Cushing is a storage and delivery hub for crude oil from Oklahoma, Colorado, West Texas, North Dakota and other Midwestern areas.
Completion of the Diamond Pipeline also lends to a more direct, lower cost route of transportation to the Memphis refinery rather than the current, more cumbersome method through the Capline pipeline via railcar. The Diamond Pipeline may also lead to the eventual reversal of the Capline.
“I and the Diamond Stakeholders greatly appreciate the commitment and dedication it took to complete such a unique and challenging installation,”
said Stephen R. Lee, P.E., Director – Special Projects, Plains All American Pipeline. “Phenomenal job guys!” he adds.
Energy Services South places the value of safety above all else and is the most important factor in the completion of any project. According to ESS’s safety message “The safety of our employees is a major consideration in all of our operations. No job is so important that we cannot take the time to do it in a safe manner.”
The Diamond Pipeline will be fully operational in December, 2017.
