据路透社休斯顿报道，市场情报分析公司Genscape的数据显示，在一条经过改造的管道开始将原油从美国最大的页岩油田运往美国墨西哥湾沿岸后，德克萨斯州西部的原油库存本周下降到四个月来的最低水平。

二叠纪盆地储油量的下降是另一个迹象，表明该地区的新输油管已开始缓解原油瓶颈，由于产量超过了输油管容量和储油罐的容量，当地原油价格因此下降。

根据Genscape数据，在截至2月19日的一周内, 二叠纪盆地的原油库存降至1500万桶, 为去年10月份以来的最低水平, 低于去年11月份创纪录的2200万桶（这一过剩的规模从去年6月份的1100万桶增加了一倍），库存下降开始于去年11月中旬, 此前美国管道运营商全美平原管道公司（Plains All American Pipeline LP,简称PAA）扩大了其每天约30万桶运输产能的Sunrise管道。

本月，随着企业产品合作伙伴公司（Enterprise Products Partners LP，简称EPP）开始通过一条转化天然气液体管道（该管道为日产能20万桶的Seminole-Red）运送原油，石油库存下降速度加快，这比计划提前了两个月。

分析人士表示，在其他管道项目开始之前，二叠纪地区的库存量可能在2019年中再次上升，从而削弱了米德兰价格。

美国能源信息署本周预测，3月份二叠系盆地的产量预计将达到400万桶/日，同比激增100万桶/日。

Genscape分析师Dylan White表示：“预计下一次对外管道容量的扩张要到2019年第三季度，这可能导致进一步的运输限制和存储增加。”

从二叠纪盆地到墨西哥湾海岸的三条每天运送超过200万桶的主要管道计划在未来18个月内开通，它们包括90万桶/日的EPIC管线、67万桶/日的Cactus II管线和80万桶/日的Grey Oak管道。

据通用电气公司旗下贝克·休斯能源服务公司表示，自去年12月以来，为了应对原油价格下跌和输油管道的限制，美国石油生产商已经在二叠纪关闭了20座石油钻塔，使该地区的钻塔数量降至473台，为去年6月以来的最低点。

詹晓晶摘自路透社

原文如下：

New pipelines drain West Texas crude stocks to four-month low

Crude inventories in West Texas dropped this week to the lowest in four months after a converted pipeline began transporting crude from the nation’s biggest shale oil field to the U.S. Gulf Coast, data from market intelligence provider Genscape showed.

The drop in storage in the Permian Basin is another sign that new pipelines out of the region have begun to alleviate a crude bottleneck that depressed local crude prices as production overwhelmed pipeline capacity and filled storage tanks.

Crude inventories in the Permian Basin fell to 15 million barrels in the week to Feb. 19, the lowest since October and down from a record 22 million barrels in November. That glut had doubled in size from 11 million barrels in June, according to the Genscape data.

The decline began in mid-November after Plains All American Pipeline LP expanded the capacity of its about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) Sunrise Pipeline.

The drawdown accelerated this month when Enterprise Products Partners LP began shipping crude on a converted natural gas liquids pipeline, the 200,000 bpd Seminole-Red line, two months ahead of schedule.

Permian area storage levels could rise again in mid-2019, weakening Midland prices, before other pipeline projects begin, analysts said.

Permian Basin output is expected to hit 4 million bpd in March, a year-on-year surge of over 1 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected this week.

“The next outbound pipeline capacity expansions are not expected until the third quarter of 2019, potentially leading to further constraints and storage builds,” said Dylan White, an analyst at Genscape.

Three major pipelines transporting more than 2 million bpd from the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast are scheduled to open over the next 18 months. They include the 900,000 bpd EPIC pipeline, the 670,000 bpd Cactus II pipeline and the 800,000 bpd Grey Oak pipeline.

U.S. producers, responding to lower crude prices and pipeline constraints, have idled 20 oil drilling rigs in the Permian since December, bringing the region’s oil rig count to 473, the lowest since June, according to General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm.