Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (PAGP), through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P (PAA), owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure that provides assets and the services primarily focusing on the crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL). PAA GP Holdings LLC operates as a general partner of the company.
The company also owns a 100% managing member interest in Plains All American GP LLC (GP LLC), a Delaware limited liability company that holds the non-economic general partner inter...
Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (PAGP), through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P (PAA), owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure that provides assets and the services primarily focusing on the crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL). PAA GP Holdings LLC operates as a general partner of the company.
The company also owns a 100% managing member interest in Plains All American GP LLC (GP LLC), a Delaware limited liability company that holds the non-economic general partner interest in AAP.
PAA’s business model integrates large-scale supply aggregation capabilities with the ownership and operation of critical midstream infrastructure systems that connect major producing regions to key demand centers and export terminals. As one of the largest midstream service providers in North America, PAA owns an extensive network of pipeline transportation, terminalling, storage and gathering assets in key crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) producing basins (including the Permian Basin) and transportation corridors and at major market hubs in the United States and Canada. PAA’s assets and the services it provides are primarily focused on crude oil and NGL. PAA’s assets are owned, and its operations are conducted, directly and indirectly through its primary operating subsidiaries.
PAA’s Business Strategy
PAA’s principal business strategy is to provide competitive and efficient midstream infrastructure and logistics services to producers, refiners and other customers. PAA strives to address regional supply and demand imbalances for crude oil and NGL in the United States and Canada by combining the strategic location and capabilities of its transportation, terminalling, storage, processing and fractionation assets with its commercial expertise. PAA intends to execute its strategy by:
Focusing on operational excellence, continuous improvement and running a safe, reliable, and environmentally and socially responsible operation;
Using its well positioned network of midstream infrastructure in conjunction with its commercial capabilities to provide its customers with market access, flexibility and value chain solutions, capture market opportunities, address physical market imbalances, mitigate risks and generate and grow sustainable;
Optimizing and enhancing its asset portfolio and operations (through disciplined and accretive capital investments and through the pursuit of emerging energy opportunities) to maximize returns on invested capital; and
Pursuing a balanced, long-term financial strategy that focuses on maintaining an investment grade credit profile and enhancing financial flexibility by making disciplined capital allocation decisions.
Segments
The company has an extensive network of pipeline transportation, terminalling, storage and gathering assets in key crude oil and NGL producing basins and transportation corridors and at major market hubs in the United States and Canada.
Crude Oil segment
Crude Oil Market and Business Overview
The company’s business model integrates large-scale supply aggregation capabilities with the ownership and operation of critical infrastructure systems that connect major producing regions (supply) to key demand centers (refineries) and export terminals. The company’s assets and its business strategy are designed to serve its producer and refiner customers by addressing regional crude oil supply and demand imbalances that exist in the United States and Canada. The nature and extent of supply and demand imbalances change from time to time as a result of a variety of factors, including global demand for exports; regional production declines and/or increases; refinery expansions, modifications and shut-downs; available transportation and storage capacity; and government mandates and related regulatory factors.
The company’s Crude Oil segment operations generally consist of gathering and transporting crude oil using pipelines, gathering systems, trucks and at times on barges or railcars, in addition to providing terminalling, storage and other facilities-related services utilizing its integrated assets across the United States and Canada. The company’s assets serve third parties and is also supported by its merchant activities. The company’s merchant activities include the purchase of crude oil supply and the movement of this supply on its assets or third-party assets to sales locations, including its terminals, third-party connecting carriers, regional hubs or to refineries.
With respect to the transportation assets in this segment, the company primarily generates revenue through a combination of tariffs, pipeline capacity agreements and other transportation fees. With respect to its crude oil terminal and condensate processing assets in this segment, the company primarily generates revenue through a combination of month-to-month and multi-year agreements and arrangements which include storage, throughput and loading/unloading fees at its crude oil terminals. The company also generates significant revenue through a variety of commercial and merchant activities that often result in increased utilization of its transportation and storage assets.
Crude Oil Segment Assets Overview
As of December 31, 2023, the assets utilized in the company’s Crude Oil segment included the following:
18,335 miles of active crude oil transportation pipelines and gathering systems;
72 million barrels of commercial crude oil storage capacity at its terminalling and storage locations;
40 million barrels of active, above-ground tank capacity used to facilitate pipeline throughput or support its rail assets and help maintain product quality segregation;
four marine facilities in the United States;
a condensate processing facility located in the Eagle Ford area of South Texas with an aggregate processing capacity of 120,000 barrels per day;
seven crude oil rail terminals with aggregate loading and unloading capacity of 264,000 and 350,000 barrels per day, respectively;
1,420 crude oil railcars; and
740 trucks and 1,355 trailers.
Additionally, the company’s assets include the linefill associated with its commercial activities, including approximately:
15 million barrels of crude oil linefill in pipelines and tanks owned by it; and
3 million barrels of crude oil utilized as linefill in pipelines owned by third parties or otherwise required as long-term inventory.
Crude Oil Infrastructure
A significant portion of the company’s crude oil assets are interconnected and are operated as a contiguous system. The following descriptions are organized by geographic location and asset type and represent its most significant assets. Pipeline capacities throughout these descriptions are based on the company’s reasonable estimate of volumes that can be delivered from origin to final destination on its pipeline systems.
The company’s crude oil pipelines consists of:
gathering pipelines that move crude oil from wellhead or central battery connections to regional market hubs;
intra-basin pipelines that are used as a hub system allowing for a significant amount of flexibility by creating connections between regional hub locations; and
long-haul pipelines that move crude oil from regional market hubs to major market hubs such as Cushing, Oklahoma or to export facilities, including its Corpus Christi terminal, or a refinery or other major market hubs, such as the Houston market.
The company’s crude oil terminals have significant flexibility and operational capabilities, including large-scale multi-grade handling and segregation capabilities and multiple marine transportation loading and unloading capabilities. The company’s largest crude oil terminals are located in key market hubs, including Cushing, Oklahoma; St. James, Louisiana; Midland, Texas; and Patoka, Illinois, and have connectivity to major inbound and outbound pipelines and other terminals at these hubs.
Permian Basin
Gathering Pipelines: The company operates over 5,200 miles of gathering pipelines in both the Midland Basin and the Delaware Basin that in aggregate represent approximately 3.8 million barrels per day of pipeline capacity. This gathering capacity includes pipeline capacity that delivers volumes to regional market hubs. Approximately 75% of the capacity of the company’s gathering systems is in the Delaware Basin. The company’s gathering pipelines are supported by long-term acreage dedications. All of the company’s gathering pipelines in the Permian Basin are owned by the Permian JV, a consolidated entity in which it owns a 65% interest.
Intra-Basin Pipelines: The company’s intra-basin pipeline system in the Permian Basin has a capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day and connects gathering pipelines and truck injection volumes to its owned and operated as well as third-party mainline pipelines that transport crude oil to major market hubs. This interconnected pipeline system is designed to provide shippers with flow assurance, flexibility and access to multiple markets and support downstream movements on certain Permian Basin long-haul pipelines. A majority of the intra-basin pipeline system is owned by the Permian JV, a consolidated entity in which the company owns a 65% interest.
Long-Haul Pipelines: The company owns interests in multiple long-haul pipeline systems that, on a combined basis, represent approximately 2.1 million barrels per day of operational takeaway capacity out of the Permian Basin to major market hubs in Corpus Christi and Houston, Texas and Cushing, Oklahoma. The company’s long-haul pipelines are supported by long-term commitments.
Permian to Cushing/Mid-Continent
Basin Pipeline (Permian to Cushing): The company owns an 87% UJI in and are the operator of Basin Pipeline. Basin Pipeline has three primary origination locations: Jal, New Mexico; Wink, Texas; and Midland, Texas and, in addition to making intra-basin movements, serves as the primary route for transporting crude oil from the Permian Basin to Cushing, Oklahoma. Basin Pipeline also receives crude oil from a facility in southern Oklahoma which aggregates South Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) production.
Sunrise II Pipeline: The company operates the Sunrise II Pipeline and, through a UJI arrangement, own 80% of the capacity of the pipeline, which equates to approximately 400,000 barrels of capacity. The company’s Sunrise II Pipeline transports crude oil from Midland and Colorado City to connecting carriers at Wichita Falls.
Permian to Gulf Coast
BridgeTex Pipeline (Permian to Houston) The company owns a 20% interest in the entity that owns the BridgeTex Pipeline. The pipeline, operated by a subsidiary of ONEOK, Inc. (ONEOK), originates at Colorado City, Texas and extends to Houston, Texas. The BridgeTex pipeline has a capacity of approximately 440,000 barrels per day and is capable of receiving supply from both the company’s Basin and Midland South pipelines.
Cactus Pipeline (Permian to Corpus Christi): The company owns and operates the Cactus Pipeline, which has a capacity of 390,000 barrels per day, originates at McCamey, Texas and extends to Gardendale, Texas. The Cactus Pipeline connects to the company’s Eagle Ford joint venture pipeline system at Gardendale for access to the Corpus Christi, Texas market. Movements to Corpus Christi are made on a joint tariff with the Eagle Ford joint venture pipeline.
Cactus II Pipeline (Permian to Corpus Christi): The Cactus II Pipeline is a Permian mainline system that extends directly to the Corpus Christi market and has a capacity of approximately 670,000 barrels per day. The company operates the Cactus II Pipeline and owns a 70% interest in Cactus II, the entity that owns the Cactus II Pipeline, through a joint venture with Enbridge Inc.
Wink to Webster Pipeline: The company owns a 16% interest in the entity that owns the Wink to Webster Pipeline (W2W Pipeline), which in turn owns 100% of certain segments of the W2W Pipeline and a 71% UJI in the segment from Midland, Texas to Webster, Texas. The W2W Pipeline originates in the Permian Basin in West Texas and transports crude oil to multiple destinations in the Houston and Galveston market areas. The pipeline system provides approximately 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil capacity (approximately 1.1 million barrels per day, net to the UJI interest).
Terminals: The company’s Midland terminal has access to all of the Permian JV gathering pipelines, either through direct connections, or through the Permian JV intra-basin pipelines. Likewise, the terminal is also either directly connected, or connected through the Permian JV intra-basin pipelines, to all of the company’s Permian Basin long-haul pipelines. The company’s Midland terminal also has connectivity to third-party inbound and outbound pipelines and terminals at the Midland, Texas hub.
South Texas/Eagle Ford
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates various gathering systems in the Eagle Ford producing region that connect into its Eagle Ford joint venture pipeline system or to third-party pipelines.
Long-Haul Pipelines: The company owns a 50% interest in the entity that owns the Eagle Ford Pipeline through a joint venture with a subsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners, L.P. (Enterprise). The company serves as the operator of the Eagle Ford Pipeline, which has a total capacity of approximately 660,000 barrels per day and connects Permian, through a connection with its Cactus Pipeline, and Eagle Ford area production to Corpus Christi, Texas refiners and terminals. Additionally, the Eagle Ford Pipeline has connectivity to Houston, Texas via a connection with Enterprise’s pipeline at Lyssy, Texas. The Eagle Ford Pipeline is supported by long-term shipper commitments.
Terminals: The company owns a 50% interest in the entity that owns the Eagle Ford Corpus Christi terminal through a joint venture with a subsidiary of Enterprise. The Eagle Ford Corpus Christi terminal has a dock with the capacity to export crude oil and approximately one million barrels of commercial storage capacity.
Condensate Processing: The company owns a condensate processing facility located in La Salle County, Texas that stabilizes condensate that is primarily sourced from its Eagle Ford area gathering systems. The processed NGL is delivered to a third-party pipeline that delivers into Mont Belvieu, Texas.
Mid-Continent
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates gathering pipelines that source crude oil from Western and Central Oklahoma and Southwest Kansas for transportation and delivery into its terminal facilities at Cushing, Oklahoma.
Long-haul Pipelines: The company owns and operates various pipeline systems that extend from its Cushing terminal in Oklahoma to various refineries and/or crude oil hubs. Below is a description of some of the company’s most significant pipeline systems in the Mid-Continent region.
Diamond Pipeline (Cushing to Memphis): The company owns a 50% interest in the entity that owns the Diamond Pipeline through a joint venture with Valero Energy Corporation (Valero). The company operates the Diamond Pipeline, which extends from its Cushing Terminal to Valero’s refinery in Memphis, Tennessee. The Diamond Pipeline has a total capacity of approximately 200,000 barrels per day.
Red River Pipeline (Cushing to Longview): The company owns 67% of the entity that owns the Red River Pipeline through a joint venture with Delek Logistics Partners, LP (Delek). The Red River Pipeline is an approximately 235,000 barrel per day capacity pipeline that extends from the company’s Cushing Terminal in Oklahoma to Longview, Texas, where it connects with various pipelines. The company serves as operator of the Red River Pipeline. The Red River joint venture owns an approximate 69% UJI in the pipeline segment from Cushing to Hewitt, Oklahoma and owns 100% of the segment of the pipeline extending from Hewitt to Longview, Texas.
In addition, the company owns 50% interests in both the Cushing Connect and Midway pipelines that originate at its Cushing terminal and terminate at refineries in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Coffeyville, Kansas, respectively. The company’s partners in each pipeline are the refiner customers at the terminus of the pipelines.
Terminals: The company is a large provider of crude oil terminalling services in Cushing, Oklahoma, which is one of the largest physical trading hubs in the United States and is the delivery point for the NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures contracts (the benchmark for U.S. crude oil). The company’s Cushing terminal has been designated by the NYMEX as an approved delivery location.
The company’s Cushing terminal, which has 27 million barrels of commercial storage capacity, is connected to its long-haul pipelines from the Permian Basin and Rocky Mountain regions, as well as to its Mid-Continent region gathering pipelines. Additionally, the terminal supplies crude oil to all of the company’s joint venture, Mid-Continent region long-haul pipelines.
The company’s crude oil terminal in Patoka, Illinois, which has 7 million barrels of commercial storage capacity, has connectivity to major inbound and outbound pipelines at this hub, including the Capline Pipeline.
Gulf Coast
Long-haul Pipelines: The company owns an approximate 54% interest in the entity that owns the Capline Pipeline, which extends from Patoka, Illinois to various terminals in St. James, Louisiana. The Capline Pipeline is supported by long-term shipper commitments, and a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation serves as the operator.
Terminals: The company’s terminal at St. James, Louisiana, which has 15 million barrels of commercial storage capacity, is a destination facility connected to the Capline Pipeline and other third-party pipelines, and also has a rail unload facility that can move crude oil from rail cars to pipelines that service local refiners, or to its docks which can receive or export crude oil. The company’s terminals in and near Mobile, Alabama have 4 million barrels of commercial storage capacity, along with dock capacity to receive or export crude oil.
Rocky Mountain
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates pipelines that provide gathering services in the Bakken and the Powder River Basin.
Long-haul Pipelines: The company’s pipeline systems in the Rocky Mountain region provide access to its terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma as well as other major market hubs. The company has two cross-border pipelines, each of which has the flexibility to move up to 30,000 barrels per day of crude oil, depending on the quality. The company owns and operates the Bakken North cross-border pipeline system that accommodates bidirectional flow and can move crude oil between the Bakken at Trenton, North Dakota and the Enbridge Mainline system at Regina, Saskatchewan. The company owns a UJI in the Western Corridor pipeline system that extends from the Canadian border to its terminal in Guernsey, Wyoming and receives crude oil from its cross-border Rangeland South pipeline. In addition to these assets, its largest Rocky Mountain region systems include the following joint venture pipelines, both of which connect to its terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Saddlehorn Pipeline: The company owns a 30% interest in the entity that owns the Saddlehorn Pipeline which, through a UJI arrangement, owns approximately 290,000 barrels per day of capacity in the Saddlehorn Pipeline. The pipeline extends from the Niobrara and Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin to Cushing and is operated by ONEOK. The Saddlehorn Pipeline is supported by minimum volume commitments.
White Cliffs Pipeline: The company owns an approximate 36% interest in the entity that owns the White Cliffs Pipeline system through a joint venture with three other partners. The White Cliffs Pipeline system consists of one crude oil pipeline with approximately 100,000 barrels per day of capacity that extends from the DJ Basin to Cushing, Oklahoma and one NGL pipeline with approximately 90,000 barrels per day of capacity that extends from the DJ Basin to a tie-in location with the Southern Hills Pipeline in Oklahoma. The NGL pipeline is supported by a long-term capacity lease and long-term throughput agreements. A subsidiary of Energy Transfer LP serves as the operator of the pipelines.
Canada
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates gathering systems that source crude oil from truck terminals and pipeline-connected facilities to deliver to the Enbridge Mainline system at its Kerrobert and Regina terminals in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Intra-basin Pipelines: The company owns and operates intra-basin pipelines with capacity of approximately 290,000 barrels per day that deliver crude oil from northern and southern Alberta to the Edmonton, Alberta market hub. These pipelines provide shippers with flexibility to access the Enbridge and TransMountain long-haul pipelines along with the Imperial Oil Refinery.
Western
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates a pipeline in the San Joaquin Valley in California that gathers locally produced crude oil, which is then delivered via its Line 63 pipeline system and/or Line 2000 pipeline for transportation to Los Angeles area refiners.
Long-haul Pipelines: The company owns and operates Line 63 and Line 2000 pipelines in California. Line 2000 is a mainline system that has the capacity to transport approximately 110,000 barrels per day from the San Joaquin Valley to refineries and terminal facilities in the Los Angeles area. Line 63 is used as a gathering and distribution system. The pipeline gathers crude oil in the San Joaquin Valley for delivery to Line 2000 and local refiners. In the Los Angeles area, the Line 63 distribution lines are used to move crude oil from Line 2000 to local refiners.
NGL segment
NGL Market and Business Overview
NGL primarily includes ethane, propane, normal butane, iso-butane and natural gasoline, and is derived from natural gas production and processing activities, as well as crude oil refining processes. The individual NGL components are used for various purposes including heating, engine and industrial fuels, a component of motor gasoline and as the primary feedstock for petrochemical facilities that produce many everyday consumer products, including a wide range of plastics and synthetic rubber.
Rocky Mountain
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates pipelines that provide gathering services in the Bakken and the Powder River Basin.
Long-haul Pipelines: The company’s pipeline systems in the Rocky Mountain region provide access to its terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma as well as other major market hubs. The company has two cross-border pipelines, each of which has the flexibility to move up to 30,000 barrels per day of crude oil, depending on the quality. The company owns and operates the Bakken North cross-border pipeline system that accommodates bidirectional flow and can move crude oil between the Bakken at Trenton, North Dakota and the Enbridge Mainline system at Regina, Saskatchewan. The company owns a UJI in the Western Corridor pipeline system that extends from the Canadian border to its terminal in Guernsey, Wyoming and receives crude oil from its cross-border Rangeland South pipeline. In addition to these assets, its largest Rocky Mountain region systems include the following joint venture pipelines, both of which connect to its terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Saddlehorn Pipeline: The company owns a 30% interest in the entity that owns the Saddlehorn Pipeline which, through a UJI arrangement, owns approximately 290,000 barrels per day of capacity in the Saddlehorn Pipeline. The pipeline extends from the Niobrara and Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin to Cushing and is operated by ONEOK. The Saddlehorn Pipeline is supported by minimum volume commitments.
White Cliffs Pipeline: The company owns an approximate 36% interest in the entity that owns the White Cliffs Pipeline system through a joint venture with three other partners. The White Cliffs Pipeline system consists of one crude oil pipeline with approximately 100,000 barrels per day of capacity that extends from the DJ Basin to Cushing, Oklahoma and one NGL pipeline with approximately 90,000 barrels per day of capacity that extends from the DJ Basin to a tie-in location with the Southern Hills Pipeline in Oklahoma. The NGL pipeline is supported by a long-term capacity lease and long-term throughput agreements. A subsidiary of Energy Transfer LP serves as the operator of the pipelines.
Canada
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates gathering systems that source crude oil from truck terminals and pipeline-connected facilities to deliver to the Enbridge Mainline system at its Kerrobert and Regina terminals in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Intra-basin Pipelines: The company owns and operates intra-basin pipelines with capacity of approximately 290,000 barrels per day that deliver crude oil from northern and southern Alberta to the Edmonton, Alberta market hub. These pipelines provide shippers with flexibility to access the Enbridge and TransMountain long-haul pipelines along with the Imperial Oil Refinery.
Western
Gathering Pipelines: The company owns and operates a pipeline in the San Joaquin Valley in California that gathers locally produced crude oil, which is then delivered via its Line 63 pipeline system and/or Line 2000 pipeline for transportation to Los Angeles area refiners.
Long-haul Pipelines: The company owns and operates Line 63 and Line 2000 pipelines in California. Line 2000 is a mainline system that has the capacity to transport approximately 110,000 barrels per day from the San Joaquin Valley to refineries and terminal facilities in the Los Angeles area. Line 63 is used as a gathering and distribution system. The pipeline gathers crude oil in the San Joaquin Valley for delivery to Line 2000 and local refiners. In the Los Angeles area, the Line 63 distribution lines are used to move crude oil from Line 2000 to local refiners.
NGL segment
NGL Market and Business Overview
NGL primarily includes ethane, propane, normal butane, iso-butane and natural gasoline, and is derived from natural gas production and processing activities, as well as crude oil refining processes. The individual NGL components are used for various purposes including heating, engine and industrial fuels, a component of motor gasoline and as the primary feedstock for petrochemical facilities that produce many everyday consumer products, including a wide range of plastics and synthetic rubber.
NGL Segment Assets Overview
The company operates a highly integrated network of assets, strategically positioned across Canada and the United States, with a particular focus on serving production from the liquids-rich Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. As of December 31, 2023, the assets utilized in the company’s NGL segment included the following:
four natural gas processing plants;
seven fractionation plants located throughout Canada and the United States with an aggregate useable capacity of approximately 171,000 barrels per day;
NGL storage facilities with approximately 24 million barrels of capacity;
approximately 1,565 miles of active NGL transportation pipelines;
16 NGL rail terminals and approximately 4,100 NGL rail cars; and
approximately 220 trailers.
Additionally, the company’s assets include the linefill associated with its commercial activities, including approximately:
2 million barrels of NGL linefill in pipelines and storage owned by it; and
1 million barrels of NGL utilized as linefill in pipelines owned by third parties or otherwise required as long-term inventory.
Natural Gas Processing and NGL Infrastructure
The company’s network of liquids infrastructure includes NGL fractionation facilities, underground NGL storage caverns, above ground storage tanks, NGL pipelines, and rail and truck terminals. With these assets, the company processes, fractionates, stores and transports NGL such as ethane, propane, butane and condensate. The unique integrated and geographically diverse nature of the company’s Canadian infrastructure provides the opportunity to maximize margins across the NGL value chain for both it and its customers. The most significant of these assets include the following:
Empress Facility
The company owns and operates four gas processing facilities near Empress, Alberta. These facilities, referred to as straddle plants because they straddle gas transportation pipelines, process natural gas to extract ethane and NGL mix entrained in the gas stream before returning the gas to the transportation pipelines. The company acquires the rights to extract the NGL from producers and/or shippers of the gas streams that pass through its Empress facility and then purchase natural gas to replace the thermal content attributable to the NGL that was extracted. The NGL mix can be fractionated at the company’s Empress facility or transported along the Enbridge pipeline system for fractionation at its Sarnia facility.
The company’s Empress plants are capable of processing up to 5.7 Bcf of natural gas per day; however, supply available to these plants is typically in the 3.0 to 4.0 Bcf per day range. These plants produce approximately 50,000 to 85,000 barrels per day of ethane, and 30,000 to 50,000 barrels per day of NGL mix. The company’s Empress fractionation facility is capable of processing and producing up to 26,000 barrels per day of NGL products and is connected to rail loading infrastructure at Empress and its PPTC pipeline system, which enables NGL to be transported to storage and loading terminals in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Co-Ed Pipeline
The company’s primary NGL transportation supply system, the Co-Ed NGL pipeline system, has transportation capacity of approximately 70,000 barrels per day and gathers NGL from Southwest and Central Alberta (Cardium, Deep Basin, and Alberta Montney) for delivery to its Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta NGL fractionation facilities.
Fort Saskatchewan Complex
The company’s Fort Saskatchewan facility is located near Edmonton, Alberta in one of the key North American NGL hubs. The facility is a receipt, storage, fractionation and delivery facility for NGL and is connected to other major NGL plants and pipeline systems in the area. The facility’s primary assets include a fractionation plant, 12 storage caverns, and truck and rail loading capability. The company’s Fort Saskatchewan fractionation facility has an inlet design capacity of 88,400 barrels per day and is able to produce up to approximately 44,400 barrels per day of propane, butane and condensate. The remaining throughput capacity is used to produce a propane and butane mix, which is transported via the Enbridge pipeline system to its Sarnia facility for further fractionation.
Sarnia Area
The company’s Sarnia Area assets in Southwestern Ontario consist of its Sarnia facility, its Windsor storage terminal and its St. Clair, Michigan terminal. The Sarnia facility is a large NGL fractionation and storage facility with rail and truck loading capabilities. The Sarnia Area facilities are served by a network of multiple pipelines connected to various refineries, chemical plants, and other pipeline and railroad systems in the area. This pipeline network also delivers product between the company’s Sarnia facility and its Windsor and St. Clair storage facilities. The Sarnia fractionator, which the company operates and has a partial ownership interest in, receives NGL feedstock primarily from the Enbridge pipeline system and, to a lesser extent, from its rail unloading facility. The fractionation unit is able to process an average of approximately 100,000 barrels per day of NGL products. The company’s ownership in the various processing units at the Sarnia fractionator ranges from 61% to 85%.
Customers
ExxonMobil Corporation and its subsidiaries accounted for 26% of the company’s revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023. BP p.l.c. and its subsidiaries accounted for 10% of the company’s revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023. The majority of revenues from these customers pertain to the company’s Crude Oil segment merchant activities, and sales to these customers occur at multiple locations.
Joint Venture and Joint Ownership Arrangements
The company is a party to more than 25 joint venture (JV) and undivided joint interest (UJI) arrangements with long-term partners throughout the industry value chain spanning across multiple North American basins.
Regulations
A substantial portion of the company’s petroleum pipelines and its storage tank facilities in the United States are subject to regulation by the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) pursuant to the Hazardous Liquids Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, as amended (the HLPSA) with respect to crude oil and NGL. The Hazardous Liquids Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, as amended (HLPSA) imposes safety requirements on the design, installation, testing, construction, operation, replacement and management of pipeline and tank facilities.
The company continues to implement Pipeline, Facility and Cavern Integrity Management Programs to comply with applicable regulatory requirements and assist in its efforts to mitigate risk. In the United States, the company is subject to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, as amended, and comparable state statutes that regulate the protection of the health and safety of workers. In addition, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hazard communication standard requires that certain information be maintained about hazardous materials used or produced in operations and that this information be provided to employees, state and local government authorities and citizens. Certain of the company’s facilities are subject to OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations, which are designed to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable or explosive chemicals. These regulations apply to any process which involves a chemical at or above specified thresholds or any process that involves 10,000 pounds or more of a flammable liquid or gas in one location. The company generates wastes, including hazardous wastes, which are subject to the requirements of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended (RCRA), and analogous state and provincial laws. Many of the wastes that the company generates are not subject to the most stringent requirements of RCRA because the company’s operations generate primarily oil and gas wastes, which are excluded from consideration as RCRA hazardous wastes.
The company is subject to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Risk Management Plan (RMP) regulations at certain facilities. The company’s United States operations are subject to the United States Clean Air Act (Clean Air Act), comparable state laws and associated federal, state and local regulations.
The company’s transportation activities are subject to regulation by multiple governmental agencies. The company’s common carrier pipeline operations with interstate movements of liquids are subject to rate regulation by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under the Interstate Commerce Act (ICA). Unless covered by a waiver, the ICA requires that the company maintain tariffs on file with FERC for interstate movements of liquids on its pipelines. The company’s intrastate liquids pipeline transportation activities are subject to various state laws and regulations, as well as orders of state regulatory bodies, including the Railroad Commission of Texas (TRRC) and the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC).
The company’s Canadian pipeline assets are subject to regulation by the CER and by provincial authorities. The company is licensed to perform both intrastate and interstate motor carrier services. As a motor carrier, the company is subject to certain safety regulations issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association of the DOT. The company is also subject to OSHA with respect to its U.S. trucking operations.
The company’s trucking assets in Canada are subject to regulation by both federal and provincial transportation agencies in the provinces in which they are operated. These regulatory agencies do not set freight rates, but do establish and administer rules and regulations relating to other matters, including equipment, facility inspection, reporting and safety. The company is licensed to operate both intra- and inter-provincially under the direction of the National Safety Code (NSC) that is administered by Transport Canada. The company’s for-hire service is primarily the transportation of crude oil, condensates and NGL. The company is required under the NSC to, among other things, monitor: driver operations, log book maintenance, truck manifest preparations, safety placard placement on the trucks and trailers, operation and equipment safety and many other aspects of trucking operations. The company is also subject to Occupational Health and Safety regulations with respect to its Canadian trucking operations.
The company owns and operates a number of railcar loading and unloading facilities in the United States and Canada. In connection with these rail terminals, the company owns and leases a significant number of railcars. The company’s railcar operations are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the DOT, OSHA, as well as other federal and state regulatory agencies and Canadian regulatory agencies for operations in Canada.
Part of the company’s operations cross land that has historically been apportioned to various Native American/First Nations tribes (Indigenous Peoples), who may exercise significant jurisdiction and sovereignty over their lands.
As a result of its cross border activities, including transportation and importation of crude oil and NGL between the United States and Canada, the company is subject to a variety of legal requirements pertaining to such activities, including presidential permit requirements, export/import license requirements, tariffs, Canadian and the U.S. customs and taxes, and requirements relating to toxic substances.
History
Plains GP Holdings, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, was founded in 2013. The company was incorporated in 2013.
