Enterprise Gets Aggressive with Permian Crude Volume Surge

Enterprise Products Partners appears to have rapidly intensified competition for Permian Basin crude by reconverting its Midland-to-Echo 2 (ME2) pipeline back to crude service in early 2026. This move followed the startup of the company’s Bahia NGL pipeline, which allowed ME2 to shift back away from natural gas liquids. Since the conversion, Enterprise appears to have aggressively marketed capacity, causing combined volumes on its Midland-to-E1 and ME2 pipelines to spike dramatically. In March, flows across the joint system approached 815,000 barrels per day (see figure below), pushing the lines remarkably close to their estimated nameplate capacity of 840,000 barrels per day.

Because total Permian Basin production has not grown significantly during the first half of 2026, Enterprise is almost certainly pulling these massive volumes away from rival operators. The impact appears widespread across the region, as data does not yet show an obvious single, severe drop on any individual competitor line, suggesting Enterprise may be capturing market share incrementally from multiple pipelines. Meanwhile, the company’s separate Midland-to-E3 pipeline, which holds an undivided joint interest in the Wink-to-Webster system, continues to run completely full, consistently moving about 450,000 barrels per day as it has since late 2021.

Phillips 66 Sweeny Refinery’s Shifting Crude Oil Supply

The Phillips 66 Sweeny Refinery, which operates at a daily crude oil capacity of approximately 265,000 barrels, has recently experienced a notable shift in its crude oil supply. Historically, the facility has relied on three major pipeline sources: the Sweeny, Gray Oak, and KMCC pipelines. Phillips 66’s wholly owned Sweeny pipeline (the orange line in the figure below) remains the refinery’s primary anchor, consistently delivering about 150,000 barrels per day of combined waterborne imports from the Freeport marine terminal and Canadian crude coming off the Seaway Pipeline. However, the balance of the refinery’s supply is undergoing a reallocation between the other two competing pipelines.

In recent months, volumes from the Gray Oak pipeline (green lines in figure below) dropped significantly from just under 100,000 barrels per day to around 40,000 barrels per day. This missing volume has shifted over to Kinder Morgan’s KMCC pipeline (red lines in figure below), boosting its crude deliveries into Sweeny to over 60,000 barrels per day. This reversal is surprising because Phillips 66 holds a 6.5 percent ownership stake in Gray Oak but owns no part of KMCC. The shift could be driven by highly competitive tariff rates offered by KMCC or a strategic desire for more Eagle Ford barrels, although Gray Oak can also source Eagle Ford barrels. The lower usage on Gray Oak is particularly interesting as it comes at a time when some investors have pressured Phillips 66 regarding the potential sale of some of their midstream pipeline assets.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 400 assets with crude oil throughput or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued what may be its final Request for Proposal (RFP) for crude oil exchanges from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) this year, offering an additional 40 million barrels. If fully awarded, this would exhaust the previously announced 172-million-barrel maximum allocation. The withdrawal timeline spans from July through September, with crude drawn directly from two primary Gulf Coast sites: 15 million barrels from Bryan Mound, which is the largest SPR location, and 25 million barrels from Big Hill.

The physical barrels from this new tranche will exit the underground caverns during the summer months, with the replacement barrels scheduled to return primarily throughout 2027, stretching into the first quarter of 2028. This temporary drawdown creates a projected logistical “bottom point” for SPR inventory levels in September (see below graph). Crucially, the return structure requires that the oil be replenished at an 8% to 10% premium, which ultimately ensures a higher total volume of crude returns to the reserve than would have existed under standard, non-exchange congressional sales.

Infrastructure Deep Dive: Big Hill and West Hackberry

Like all the SPR sites, the logistics networks serving the West Hackberry facility in Louisiana and the Big Hill site in Texas utilize DOE-owned pipelines.

For the Big Hill facility, which boasts a total storage capacity of 170 million barrels across its subterranean salt caverns, crude oil distribution funnels primarily northward through a single proprietary bi-directional pipeline. This dedicated line terminates directly into Energy Transfer’s Nederland Terminal (see figure below). From this specific nexus point, the crude oil can be seamlessly directed across marine export docks to global markets or routed via third-party networks to local refineries, including Exxon Beaumont, Total Port Arthur, Motiva, and Valero Port Arthur.

Further east, the West Hackberry site holds a 221 million-barrel capacity, storing a strategic mixture of both sweet and sour crude. West Hackberry is uniquely supported by two independent, bi-directional DOE pipelines that afford it dual-routing flexibility. Barrels can flow directly west to tie into the same Energy Transfer Nederland Terminal or migrate north into the Lake Charles refining hub to supply major refineries operated by CITGO and Phillips 66. Additionally, West Hackberry features a key interconnect with the Zydeco pipeline network, allowing operators to push crude deeper into the broader Louisiana refining matrix.

Global energy markets experienced a dramatic shift this spring as regional crude oil price spreads between U.S. and international markets widened significantly, peaking in early May. Driven by the Iran conflict, the Brent to WTI Cushing spread neared $13 per barrel for front-month delivery, while domestic U.S. spreads also spiked. Patoka crude commanded an $11 premium over WTI Cushing, and Houston pricing surged to a premium of over $4. This massive pricing dislocation incentivized a heavy volume of crude oil to drain from both commercial and SPR stockpiles to the international markets. Consequently, the surge in supply has notably normalized prices and narrowed regional spreads. By early June, the Brent/WTI spread has collapsed to around $5, the Patoka premium was cut in half, and Houston pricing reverted to its historical baseline of about $1 over Cushing.

While this storage-driven export boom provided a highly profitable short-term volume bump for U.S. pipelines and terminals, the upside faces a likely expiration date as storage inventories dwindle. Pipeline flows should slowly normalize back to pre-conflict levels in the short-term. However, we view the midstream outlook optimistically longer-term. The rapid depletion of global storage combined with ongoing geopolitical risk should support higher long-term crude prices. Higher sustained prices will inevitably incentivize increased U.S. production, creating a tailwind for healthy, sustainable growth environment for U.S. infrastructure. As long-term production volumes rise, midstream companies can look forward to growing base flows and the distinct potential for future pipeline capacity expansions once existing networks fill back up.

Gibson Energy’s Gateway Terminal Eyes 1M BPD Export Surge After March Slump

Gibson Energy’s Q1 earnings call highlighted a turbulent start to the year for its flagship Gateway terminal, which faced abrupt export disruptions in March due to shipping bottlenecks and heightened market uncertainty. This operational speedbump was directly reflected in the terminal’s incoming pipeline deliveries, which experienced a sharp contraction, plummeting from a robust average of over 850,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February to just under 600,000 bpd in March (see below). Despite the temporary March drawdown, Gibson Energy projected a rapid recovery for the terminal heading into the latter half of Q2 2026. Management noted on their Q1 earnings call that export volumes are on track to potentially cross the milestone of 1 million bpd, spurred by shifting global logistics and geopolitical tailwinds due to the ongoing Iran conflict.

The Gateway terminal relies on a network of four primary feeder lines: the Eagle Ford-sourced Arrowhead South Texas pipeline managed by Harvest Midstream, and three major Permian baselines, Cactus II, Cactus III, and Gray Oak. The latter two serve as Gibson’s primary volume drivers, with Gray Oak delivering approximately 350,000 bpd and Cactus III contributing around 250,000 bpd based on 2025 baselines (see Gray Oak deliveries to Gibson in below).

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 400 assets with crude oil throughput or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) relies on a complex network of underground salt caverns rather than traditional above-ground storage tanks to secure America’s emergency oil supply. Located southwest of Houston in the Freeport, Texas area, the Bryan Mound facility stands as the largest site within this system, boasting a storage capacity of 247 million barrels. Utilizing 19 active underground caverns, Bryan Mound can draw down up to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) during emergency releases, though refilling the caverns is a notably slower process, capped at a daily rate of 225,000 barrels.

At the heart of Bryan Mound’s distribution network are pipelines owned directly by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In a unique public-private arrangement, Exxon holds a long-term lease on these pipelines extending through 2030, integrating them into its onshore Hoover pipeline system (HOOPS) to transport offshore oil to Texas City and Jones Creek. However, this lease includes a critical caveat: during an official SPR drawdown, the DOE receives absolute priority service, reclaiming use of the infrastructure to distribute emergency crude to the market.

When oil is released from Bryan Mound, it primarily moves through three major midstream corridors:

• The Seaway Freeport Dock (yellow arrow below): A 50-50 joint venture between Enbridge and Enterprise, this terminal facilitates direct exports to international markets or domestic U.S. ports via tankers.

• Texas City (white arrow below): A 40-inch pipeline carries barrels north directly to major refining hubs, including Marathon’s Galveston Bay refinery and Valero’s Texas City refinery, as well as additional Seaway’s Texas City export docks and Genesis Energy terminals.

• Jones Creek Storage Facility (red arrow below): This route connects to tanks owned by Phillips 66 and Seaway at Jones Creek. After being offline due to damage from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, this critical line was refurbished by Exxon and returned to service. This connection allows crude to access Phillips 66’s Sweeney refinery via a connecting pipeline or flow north toward Enterprise’s Echo Terminal via Seaway to reach the broader Houston refining complex.

In what will be an ongoing theme in this deep dive series, the shifting dynamics of North American energy production have fundamentally altered how the SPR interacts with the broader grid. Before the domestic shale boom and the surge in Canadian crude imports, Bryan Mound had direct access to Midcontinent refineries via pipelines like Seaway, which originally flowed north (see below). Today, those infrastructure pathways have been reversed to bring a continuous surplus of oil south to the Gulf. While this reversal technically limits the SPR’s flexibility to physically pump oil north, the modern energy market handles disruptions through displacement, releasing SPR barrels along the Gulf to satisfy local demand, which in turn allows northern supplies from Canada and PADD 4 to remain in the Midwest in the time of supply disruptions.

Ultimately, whenever the federal government mandates an SPR release, such as the historic drawdowns under the Biden administration or structural exchange programs, midstream operators stand to see significant volume upside. In the case of withdrawals or refills at Bryan Mound, companies like Enterprise and Enbridge via the Seaway network, along with Exxon collecting midstream fees, are positioned to benefit.

South Bow Corporation announced a major milestone for its proposed Prairie Connector project on Friday as the company successfully closed its open season after securing binding, 20-year transportation commitments from shippers. Despite the commercial momentum, South Bow outlined a surprisingly long timeline targeting a Final Investment Decision (FID) by mid-2027. South Bow CEO Bevin Wirzba emphasized at a conference earlier last week that the company will not deploy capital until it secures “complete durability” of its U.S. cross-border permit.

The original Keystone XL project collapsed when President Joe Biden unilaterally revoked the presidential permit previously granted by President Donald Trump. Because international oil pipelines currently operate under the implied Article II constitutional powers of the executive branch rather than explicit statutory laws, their permits exist entirely at the political whim of whoever occupies the White House.

To establish a truly durable route forward, the pipeline’s regulatory framework may need to shift out of this constitutional “gray zone” and into explicit statutory law. Under Article I of the Constitution, Congress holds the absolute right to regulate foreign commerce, which federal courts historically rule overrides vague executive foreign affairs claims. If Congress exercises this authority by passing a legislative statute for oil pipelines, the power to grant and revoke cross-border permits could permanently transfer to a legislative framework, protecting multi-billion-dollar energy corridors from being canceled by the stroke of a future president’s pen.

Bakken and U.S. Oil Rig Count Climbs as Producers Respond to Higher Prices

North Dakota’s active drilling rig count increased by five over the past week, reaching 30 rigs statewide. This marks a notable rebound, up eight rigs from the three-year low of 22 recorded just two weeks ago. According to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, the latest gains were led by Devon Energy, which added two rigs, while Burlington Resources, Phoenix Operating, and Hunt Oil each added one. The prior week also saw additions from Formentera, Silver Hill, and SOGC, signaling renewed momentum in the state’s oil patch following a period of subdued activity.

The Bakken uptick comes shortly after Q1 earnings reports from exploration and production (E&P) and midstream companies, which highlighted limited new drilling across the U.S. despite a sharp rise in oil prices triggered by the Iran conflict. While producers continue to emphasize capital discipline, supported by extreme backwardation in the futures curve, U.S. onshore oil rigs have notably increased in recent weeks (see graph below). Although E&Ps are more financially disciplined than in previous cycles, the incentive to maximize production from existing acreage during periods of elevated prices remains strong, potentially driving continued activity if the forward curve stays above $70/bbl.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 400 assets with crude oil throughput or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

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The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) consists of over 700 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity in four major underground storage facilities along the Gulf Coast, providing critical emergency crude oil supplies. The largest is Bryan Mound near Freeport, Texas, with 247 million barrels capacity and a maximum drawdown rate of about 1.5 million barrels per day. West Hackberry in Louisiana holds 221 million barrels, Big Hill offers 170 million, and the smaller Bayou Choctaw near Baton Rouge has 76 million barrels capacity. These sites primarily store a mix of sweet and sour crude in massive underground salt dome caverns located 2,000 to 4,000 feet below the surface, rather than conventional above-ground tanks.

Historically, the SPR reached near-full capacity of approximately 700 million barrels about a decade ago. Levels have declined steadily due to congressionally mandated sales attached to various budget and infrastructure bills across multiple administrations (see table below).

These sales effectively turned the SPR into a budgetary tool to help offset spending or tax measures. A significant acceleration occurred in 2021-2022 during the Biden administration, when emergency sales in response to the Russia-Ukraine war reduced inventories sharply from over 600 million to below 400 million barrels. Some of these sales were pulled forward from previously scheduled mandates (black line on graph below), and the administration later conducted some buybacks at lower prices, generating a profit for the U.S. Treasury.

In response to the Iran conflict in 2026, the Trump administration launched an oil exchange program rather than outright sales. Through multiple Requests for Proposals (RFPs), the Department of Energy is releasing over 170 million barrels for delivery primarily during the summer driving season (April-August 2026). In return, market participants must repay the oil from late 2026-2029 with a 18-24% premium in kind. This structure leverages market backwardation to increase SPR inventories beyond the congressionally mandated baseline levels (black line vs. yellow bars in graph below).

The current drawdown is helping mitigate oil price spikes amid global supply concerns, but it will leave the reserve at relatively low levels by late 2026. Refills starting in November of that year could provide supportive buying pressure in the physical market as participants purchase oil to meet their repayment obligations. While the exchange approach offers a mechanism to rebuild stocks higher than pure congressionally mandated drawdowns would allow, sustained low SPR levels still carry energy security risks if new disruptions emerge before full replenishment. Market participants should closely monitor the cadence of both the sales and subsequent returns under the exchange program, as it could have significant impacts on commodity and equity prices as well as U.S. and foreign geopolitical strategy.

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Capline Pipeline Southbound Flows Near Capacity in April Amid Global Oil Supply Shortages

New reported data from the state of Louisiana provides the first look at southbound pipeline flows since the Iran conflict began in March. Capline Pipeline flows from Patoka, Illinois, into Louisiana exceeded 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April, operating near the pipeline’s estimated capacity for a typical light-heavy crude mix (see figure below). The line’s rated capacity ranges from 250,000 to 417,000 bpd depending on the crude slate. Recent wide price spreads between Midcontinent and Gulf Coast markets indicate that major southbound pipelines are running full, as global buyers pull U.S. crude to export terminals to offset international supply shortages.

This strong April data point is encouraging for other key southbound pipelines, including ETCOP JV system moving barrels from Patoka to Nederland, Texas, as well as Seaway and Marketlink lines from Cushing to the Texas coast. The elevated Gulf Coast deliveries have been supported primarily by commercial storage withdrawals and releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rather than new production growth. As noted in prior analysis, these high flow levels are likely temporary and will be difficult to sustain long-term without significant production increases across major U.S. basins.

Plains Ramps Up Cactus III Pipeline Throughput as Throughput Again Nears Capacity

Since acquiring control of the Cactus III pipeline (formerly the EPIC) in November 2025, Plains has significantly increased the system throughputs. Permian egress volumes on the system have risen from approximately 500,000 barrels per day in late 2025 to nearly 600,000 barrels per day in March 2026, approaching the pipeline’s full capacity of 625,000 bpd (see figure below). Plains has also doubled flows on its Northern Eagle Ford line serving the Hobson area, growing from 20,000 bpd to nearly 40,000 bpd over the same period. This growth is likely partly supported by marketing volumes moving through the recently acquired Ironwood Karnes System, which delivers barrels into Cactus III at the Hobson interconnect.

The recent incremental volume growth has been directed to Corpus Christi rather than Ingleside, as Plains utilizes its wholly owned EPIC Grain Export Terminal in the Inner Harbor, an economically attractive option compared to paying third-party fees at Ingleside (see figure below). With the Iran conflict ongoing and oil prices remaining elevated, Permian production is likely to rise further toward year-end. Cactus III is well positioned to capture additional upside through low-capital-cost expansion projects, including pump station additions and system optimizations that offer strong economics for incremental barrel growth.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 400 assets with crude oil throughput or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

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Record U.S. Condensate Exports Surge to Canada in Early 2026

Statistics Canada has reported record imports of U.S. condensate with volumes exceeding 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January and surpassing 350,000 bpd in February, the highest monthly levels ever recorded. Supporting pipeline specific figures from the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) show Pembina’s Cochin pipeline achieving record Q1 volumes above 115,000 bpd. The Cochin and StatsCan numbers also imply that Enbridge’s Southern Lights pipeline also hit new highs, eclipsing 230,000 bpd in the first two months of the year, well above the pipeline’s 198,000 bpd nameplate capacity following its recent expansion (see figure below).

The sharp increase in condensate imports reflects growing Canadian heavy oil and bitumen production, which relies on diluent blending to meet pipeline specifications for export to the U.S. and other markets. Seasonal factors likely amplified demand as lower imports in Q3 2025 (particularly on Cochin) appear to have drawn down storage inventories heading into winter, when colder temperatures require higher condensate ratios to maintain flowability.

U.S. Crude Exports Remain Elevated - Several Houston Terminals Slated for Upside

U.S. crude exports continue to run well above normal levels as global demand pulls barrels amid the Iran conflict and the resulting disruption of supply through the Strait of Hormuz. Two major Houston-area facilities are playing a key role in meeting this demand. Enterprise Products’ EHT Terminal in the Houston Ship Channel, one of the largest U.S. crude export facilities, has significant storage and dock capacity and previously achieved nearly 1 million barrels per day of exports in a single month (see figure below). In its Q1 earnings call, the company highlighted rising exports driven by the conflict and expects additional upside in Q2.

Nearby, Seabrook Logistics, co-owned by LBC Terminals and ONEOK, has recently recorded rates ~400,000 barrels per day (see figure below) and is also benefiting from the tightened global supply picture. The current export strength is viewed by Plainview as a short-term event as much of the incremental volume is being pulled from commercial storage and Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) inventories rather than new production. As a result, the upside from these elevated exports is expected to moderate in the second half of 2026 once SPR drawdowns conclude toward the end of the year, unless domestic U.S. crude production increases significantly to sustain the higher export pace.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 400 assets with crude oil throughput or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

Reuters reported last week that shippers have committed to move at least 400,000 barrels per day (of the initial 550,000 bpd capacity) on South Bow and Bridger’s major new pipeline project from Alberta to Guernsey, Wyoming. Committed shippers include Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, and others according to the report. Bridger has targeted approximately 450,000 bpd of committed volumes to proceed with the project, and current interest suggests the expansion is on track to advance. Bridger’s newly created expansion page indicates permitting and regulatory reviews are expected to run through 2027, with construction planned from fall 2027 and an in-service target of late 2028 or early 2029 (see figure below).

While commitments for the Alberta-to-Guernsey segment are solidifying, significant uncertainty remains around what will happen to these barrels once delivered to Wyoming. As we noted in our co-authored PADD 4 crude study with RBN Energy, PADD 4 already faces relatively tight takeaway capacity (see PADD 4 to Cushing graph below), and 450,000+ bpd of incremental heavy oil supply will almost certainly require the addition of a new egress pipeline. A February 2026 joint open season between Tallgrass and Bridger points to potential use of the Pony Express Pipeline corridor, possibly through a new twin line or rights-of-way acquired from the cancelled Phillips 66 Liberty Pipeline (which were purchased by Bridger/Tallgrass). Both of these routes would deliver volumes to Cushing, Oklahoma, with further access to the Gulf Coast via South Bow’s Marketlink system.

Energy Transfer to Expand Bayou Bridge Pipeline to 600,000 BPD, Backed by Increased Commitment

Energy Transfer announced last week that it has approved an expansion of its Bayou Bridge Pipeline joint venture, boosting capacity to approximately 600,000 barrels per day (vs. ~480,000 bpd previously). The new project is supported by a 10-year contract extension and increased volume commitment from a key demand-pull customer, with the expanded capacity expected to come online in the first quarter of 2027. Phillips 66, which owns 40% of the pipeline and serves as a major shipper alongside CITGO, is viewed by Plainview as the anchor customer driving the expansion. The timing aligns with the expiration of the original 10-year anchor contract, replacing a 130,000 bpd commitment with a new 175,000 bpd contract at slightly lower rates.

The Bayou Bridge Pipeline currently supplies about 150,000 bpd to Phillips 66’s Lake Charles refinery, accounting for the majority of the refinery’s 225,000 bpd throughput in 2025, with the balance coming from Shell’s Zydeco Pipeline and waterborne sources. The higher new commitment could displace some volumes from those secondary sources or support increased refinery utilization, given Lake Charles’s nameplate capacity of around 260,000 bpd. The expansion will also loosen an upstream bottleneck on Bayou Bridge, allowing it to deliver additional volumes past Lake Charles to St. James, a segment of the pipeline that has been significantly underutilized (see graph below) since it was completed in 2019.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 400 assets with crude oil throughput or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a staggering 6.4 million barrels of crude oil exports for the week ending April 24, marking the highest weekly figure ever recorded. Even when smoothing the data with a three-week average to account for typical weekly volatility, the export surge remains the strongest on record (see graph below). This unprecedented outflow comes as global oil markets face a major supply shock from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The resulting supply gap has triggered a strong “call” on American barrels, driving significantly higher volumes from U.S. storage hubs (including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) to Gulf Coast export terminals.

Despite the substantial rise in export volumes, U.S. marine terminals appear well-positioned to handle additional flow. Corpus Christi’s nameplate export capacity, for instance, is approximately 5 million barrels per day, nearly double its recent throughput (see graph below). Nevertheless, upstream pipeline bottlenecks remain a risk, potentially capping the upside for certain facilities. Pipeline capacity into Ingleside was already near its limit prior to the recent throughput growth and is likely facing significant constraints at present.

Current U.S. Petroleum Export Boom Powered by Storage, Not Supply Growth

The headline U.S. crude export numbers are impressive, yet a closer look reveals the true story behind the surge. In the two months since the Iran conflict escalated, U.S. crude oil production has likely not materially changed. At the same time, domestic refinery throughput is running marginally higher than the two-year average, reducing available crude oil supply (see graph below). This means the rapid climb in exports has been almost entirely enabled by large-scale storage drawdowns, both from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and commercial inventories across the country.

Short-term, these inventory releases are providing a welcome boost to throughput across U.S. pipelines and export terminals. However, storage drawdowns cannot continue indefinitely. For the U.S. to sustain elevated throughput volumes over the longer term, either domestic production growth or meaningful cuts in refinery runs will be required. Ultimately, global and domestic markets must balance. With a steeply backwardated forward curve currently discouraging new drilling, either higher prices or a swift resolution to the Iran conflict will be needed to rebalance the market.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 350 assets with crude oil throughput or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

Iran Conflict Driving Large U.S. Light Sweet Crude Premiums

The ongoing conflict in Iran and the resulting threat of a Strait of Hormuz closure continue to inject sharp volatility into global oil markets, tightening supply from the Middle East and pulling U.S. barrels strongly toward export. As previously noted, this global shortage has already widened spreads between Cushing and the Gulf Coast. Now the pressure has moved inland, creating unusual price dislocations across domestic light sweet crude grades for June delivery. Bakken crude at Dakota Access Pipeline receipt points is currently trading at a $5.60 premium to Cushing WTI, while the same grade in Guernsey trades at a more modest $3.30 premium. The standout anomaly is in Patoka, Illinois, where Bakken light sweet crude commands a staggering $9.50 premium to Cushing WTI.

The massive premium at Patoka likely stems from Midwest (PADD 2) refineries aggressively bidding up these light sweet barrels to secure domestic supply and avoid losing them to export markets, where international benchmarks such as Brent are already trading more than $11 above Cushing. This localized scramble is likely to shift some crude away from lower priced markets (Guernsey, Cushing) and toward Patoka in the near term, delivering short-term upside potential for pipelines like Dakota Access that deliver into the Patoka area.

North Dakota Oil Sees 13% Workover Rig Surge on Price Spike, But New Drilling Remains Tepid Amid Steep Backwardation

The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources’ latest monthly Director’s Cut highlighted a notable uptick in producer activity following the recent oil price spike triggered by the Iran conflict. Workover rig counts in the state have risen approximately 13%, as operators focus on optimizing existing wells to bring incremental production online quickly. Workover rigs provide a faster and lower-capital route to incremental barrels compared to new drilling, allowing producers to capitalize on elevated near-term prices without committing to large-scale development programs.

However, new horizontal rig additions remain tepid due to the steeply backwardated WTI forward curve, with 2027 prices hovering just above $70 per barrel. While it is reported that one Bakken operator has committed to picking up a rig and frac crew for July, and another is considering a similar move, broader capital spending discipline persists across North Dakota and the wider U.S. shale patch. This market structure signals that even if Middle East supply disruptions persist, U.S. production growth is likely to remain muted in the medium term, as producers remain wary of locking in incremental capital at today’s uncertain longer-dated prices.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 300 assets with crude oil flow or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

Red River Pipeline: Latent Capacity Could Create Upside from Widening Cushing-to-Gulf Coast Spreads

The widening price spread between Cushing, Oklahoma, and the Gulf Coast continues to create attractive opportunities for midstream operators and marketing arms with access to previously underutilized pipeline routes. While much of our attention has focused on larger systems like Seaway and Marketlink, smaller and more flexible corridors are also well-positioned to benefit. One key asset is the Cushing-to-Longview segment of the Red River pipeline (red line below), a joint venture between Plains All American (67% ownership) and Delek Logistics (33%). The line has a nameplate capacity of approximately 235,000 barrels per day at the Oklahoma-Texas border but has averaged less than 150,000 bpd in 2025, leaving latent capacity available to capture incremental barrels while the spread remains elevated.

Barrels delivered to Longview in East Texas have multiple options to move crude further south or east to Gulf Coast markets. Volumes can flow south via Delek’s wholly owned Paline Pipeline (blue line below) to the Beaumont/Port Arthur/Nederland area. Additional routes include Louisiana access on the Permian Express system (eastbound orange line) and three legacy Energy Transfer pipelines connecting Longview to Nederland, Beaumont, and Houston (southbound orange lines). Several of these lines have historically moved barrels northward but may retain the physical ability to reverse or optimize flows southward during periods of sustained wide spreads. This connectivity offers meaningful upside for both third-party marketers and the pipeline owners’ own marketing arms by enabling more barrels to reach higher-priced Gulf Coast destinations.

Valero Port Arthur Refinery Partial Restart: Limited Impact on Midstream Amid Strong Export Demand

Valero’s 380,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery in Texas is beginning a partial restart after a multi-week outage triggered by a fire and explosion on March 23rd. The refinery draws crude through multiple flexible supply routes, including its own Premcor Pipeline (red line below), which gathers volumes from regional terminals fed by a variety of major pipeline systems including Marketlink and Seaway. The Premcor system also receives imported crude, primarily Mexican Maya, via its waterborne terminal and can access additional supply from Energy Transfer’s Nederland Terminal.

In a typical market environment, a prolonged shutdown of a large refinery like Port Arthur could create noticeable disruptions for midstream assets serving the facility, including lower utilization on feeder pipelines and terminals. However, robust U.S. crude export demand, driven in part by the ongoing Iran conflict, has likely absorbed the lost refinery demand without issue. As a result, terminals and connecting pipelines have likely experienced minimal impact, with barrels readily redirected to export markets instead of local refining.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 300 assets with crude oil flow or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

While much of the administrative action reinforces existing operations, there is an issuance of a ninth permit for a “newly constructed 24-inch pipeline” tied to Enbridge’s Bakken Pipeline, which may act as a replacement to the current 12-inch border crossing line. This new authorization ties in with Enbridge’s Mainline Optimization 2 project (MLO2), which is planning to utilize Bakken Pipeline to shift light crude off Enbridge’s Mainline in Canada to the Dakota Access Pipeline. This larger 24-inch border crossing line is likely needed if MLO2 is to achieve its full 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity.

The landscape of Canadian crude oil egress is shifting rapidly with several major “open seasons” and projects proposed over recent months. While much of the industry’s focus has been on moving barrels out of Western Canada, a critical question remains: what happens to this oil once it reaches the U.S. Midwest? With major players like Enbridge (green lines below) and South Bow/Bridger/Pony (blue lines below) proposing multiple expansions, we could see over 850,000 barrels per day (bpd) of new capacity targeting Cushing, Oklahoma, by the end of the decade.

This massive influx of crude raises concerns about potential infrastructure constraints. Historical precedents, such as the 2018–2019 period, show that when the Cushing hub becomes overwhelmed, price dislocations can reach $5 to $6 per barrel compared to Gulf Coast prices. Currently, the primary outlets from Cushing to the Gulf are the Seaway (red line below) and Marketlink (blue line below) pipelines. While both have some latent capacity and expansion potential (roughly 700,000 bpd combined) recent high oil prices could provide enough demand for both the South Bow/Bridger/Pony and Enbridge projects to be sanctioned, which would push Seaway and Marketlink to their absolute limits.

However, the market has built-in mechanisms to prevent a total logjam. As Cushing fills up and prices begin to slightly erode, “displacement” will likely occur. Shippers on Legacy Keystone, for instance, would be incentivized to shift their volumes away from Cushing and toward other hubs like Wood River or Patoka. This rerouting would alleviate pressure on Cushing, effectively “squishing” the barrels toward different markets in search of better pricing.

The Patoka hub, in particular, offers a vital safety valve. Pipelines like Energy Transfer’s ETCOP (purple line below) and the Capline system (green line below) currently have significant open space. Capline, a 40-inch pipeline, is easily expandable and could potentially handle over a million barrels per day if necessary. These secondary routes ensure that while Cushing may see some price tightening, the extreme discounts seen in previous years are less likely to recur as the industry utilizes more flexible downstream options.

Special offer for current and future Plainview platform subscribers: Purchase the report from RBN Energy and you’ll receive a dollar-for-dollar credit toward an annual Plainview Platform subscription. This gives you ongoing access to the same interactive flow data, maps, and expanding library of regional supply-demand balances used in the analysis.

The report is now live and can be purchased here:
https://rbnenergy.com/analytics/studies/roundabout

Enbridge Initiates Multiple Open Seasons - 250,000 bpd Pipeline Expansion from Western Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast/Midwest

On Friday, Enbridge launched open seasons on their Flanagan South, Seaway, and Southern Access Extension pipelines, offering a combined 250,000 barrels per day of new capacity with receipt points linked back to Western Canada. The move appears to be tied to the company’s Mainline Optimization 2 (MLO2) Project which will use the Dakota Access Pipeline to shift light crude off the Canadian mainline, freeing up capacity for heavier crude on Enbridge’s Mainline system to Flanagan, Illinois.

Shippers appear to have two downstream options for the new capacity: 200,000 bpd of expanded capacity on the Flanagan South and Seaway pipelines (green and blue lines below) for direct access to the Texas Gulf Coast, or 50,000 bpd on the Southern Access Extension (red line below) to Patoka, Illinois, where barrels can connect to ETCOP or other third-party pipelines for onward transport to the Midwest or Gulf. The timing is notable, as several competing projects are also vying for incremental Western Canadian volumes, including Trans Mountain’s drag-reducing agent expansion (up to 90,000 bpd) and the recently concluded South Bow/Bridger/Pony Express open seasons for up to 550,000 bpd of new capacity into Cushing with access to the Gulf Coast.

Seaway Expansion Sparks Questions on Future Cushing Takeaway Capacity

The open season language indicates MLO2 will include a capacity expansion on Seaway Pipeline as well. Seaway is a critical north-to-south crude route from Cushing, Oklahoma, to the Texas Gulf Coast and is a 50/50 joint venture between Enbridge and Enterprise Products. The system consists of two parallel 30-inch pipelines serving Freeport, Houston, Texas City, Port Arthur, and Nederland. The older line, built in the 1970s, has a listed capacity of just 300,000 barrels per day, while the newer line, built in the mid-2010s, carries 650,000 bpd (~950,000 bpd combined). However, post-COVID average flows have hovered closer to 750,000 bpd (see graph below). Nevertheless, the open season language signals that more capacity may be planned.

Notably, Enbridge’s proposed 200,000 bpd expansion from Flanagan to the Gulf Coast via Seaway, along with the recently concluded South Bow/Bridger/Pony Express open season, would both route incremental Western Canadian barrels through Cushing as a key waypoint. With one or both projects likely to be sanctioned, this raises important questions about future takeaway capacity out of Cushing. Additional infrastructure beyond the planned Seaway expansion may ultimately be required, depending on the final volumes sanctioned. We will discuss this topic further in our video update early this coming week.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 300 assets with crude oil flow or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

Bridger Pipeline Files Full Montana DEQ Application - New Pipeline Expandable to 1,130,000 BPD

Bridger Pipeline has submitted its complete application to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for a new pipeline that will transport Canadian crude from the U.S.-Canada border to Guernsey, Wyoming. While an initial January notice indicated a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day (bpd), the full filing reveals the pipeline’s potential to deliver up to 1,130,000 bpd of incremental transportation capacity into Guernsey, though it is expected to operate initially at the 550,000 bpd level.

The 36-inch pipeline (purple line in figure below) appears to be designed with substantial future optionality. Its cited maximum expandability to 1,130,000 bpd may suggest the potential ability to batch light oil, allowing significantly higher volumes than the typical 800,000 bpd ceiling for heavy oil service on a line of this size. Although the application specifically mentions moving Canadian oil, detailed maps also show potential tie-ins at key Bakken receipt points — Four Mile Station north of Sidney, Montana, and Baker/Sandstone Station west of Baker, Montana — providing access to most of Bridger’s North Dakota gathering network (green lines below), including recently acquired Caliber Midstream assets (shown in red below). This optionality positions the project for potential future expansion beyond 550,000 bpd and creates the possibility of a new competitive egress option for Bakken shippers.

Special offer for current and future Plainview platform subscribers: Purchase our co-authored Canada to Guernsey focused report from RBN Energy and you’ll receive a dollar-for-dollar credit toward an annual Plainview Platform subscription. This gives you ongoing access to the same interactive flow data, maps, and expanding library of regional supply-demand balances used in the analysis.

The report is now live and can be purchased here:
https://rbnenergy.com/analytics/studies/roundabout

Grand Mesa Pipeline Cuts Uncommitted Rate to $5/Barrel Amid Recent Competitive Push

Grand Mesa Pipeline has filed a new tariff that reduces its uncommitted rates from Weld County, Colorado to Cushing, Oklahoma to a flat $5.00 per barrel. The reduction represents a 12% to 32% decrease depending on prior volume tiers and comes at an opportune time as recent oil price spikes tied to the Iran conflict encourage producers to pull forward volumes where possible. The new rate is designed to strengthen Grand Mesa’s competitiveness in the spot market, particularly for barrels originating at the more northern Lucerne and Riverside terminals.

While the $5 rate remains well above committed shipper rates out of Northern Colorado (which is below $2.00 for some pipes), it positions Grand Mesa favorably against alternative uncommitted paths such as DJ South Gathering plus White Cliffs, which sit slightly above $5. This latest more aggressive pricing move follows a strong year of volume growth, with Grand Mesa increasing mainline throughput from 55,000 barrels per day in Q2 2025 to 85,000 barrels per day by Q4 2025 as the company continues locking in new committed shippers.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 300 assets with crude oil flow or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

Energy Transfer has issued a rare “flash open season” for its Bayou Bridge Pipeline, announcing an immediate auction for available capacity starting in May 2026. This unconventional move invites shippers to bid on a least 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity from Nederland, Texas, to Lake Charles or St. James, Louisiana. With bid rates starting above $2.15 per barrel for a term no longer than seven months, the auction signals a strategic pivot by Energy Transfer to capture a sudden surge in market interest triggered by extreme price volatility.

The Bayou Bridge Pipeline serves as a critical artery for the Gulf Coast, moving crude from the Nederland terminal to Louisiana’s refining hubs. While 2025 data showed healthy utilization between Nederland and Lake Charles, averaging a record 335,000 bpd, the segment extending to St. James has historically underperformed, averaging just 65,000 bpd against its 480,000 bpd capacity. This auction suggests a potential volumetric upside for the pipeline as the market looks to source cheaper domestic barrels.

The primary catalyst for this shift is likely the massive Brent-WTI spread, which recently spiked to over $10 per barrel for May delivery. This gap makes inland U.S. WTI-price linked barrels significantly more attractive than waterborne imports tied to global Brent pricing. For Louisiana refineries, which currently receive at least 150,000 bpd of waterborne imports, the economics are clear: displacement is the goal. Even with the technical challenges of substituting specific imported grades with Houston or Nederland grades, the $10 cost advantage may prove too significant to ignore. The Valero St. Charles refinery stands out as a primary candidate for this shift, currently receiving roughly 80,000 bpd via waterborne imports. Strategically, the refinery could source Bayou Bridge barrels at St. James via Energy Transfer’s Maurepas Pipeline, which already serves the Shell Norco refinery adjacent to the St. Charles facility.

The May 2026 start date for this auction may be no coincidence. While many refiners likely locked in March and April cargoes before the recent price spike, they are now scrambling to secure flexible, lower-cost domestic supply for late spring. This development underscores how sensitive Gulf Coast midstream utilization has become to shifting global geopolitics and widening price spreads.

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Cushing-Houston Crude Spread Widens to $4: Tariff Upside for South Bow’s Marketlink Pipeline

Last week we highlighted how the significant widening of the Cushing-to-Houston crude oil spread is creating upside for major pipelines running from Cushing to the Gulf Coast. That spread has now climbed to approximately $4.00 per barrel, up from around $3.00 the prior week. The wider differential is expected to attract higher volumes on these routes, and one pipeline well positioned to benefit on both volume and realized rates is South Bow’s Marketlink pipeline. As of Q4 2025, Marketlink was operating at roughly 700,000 barrels per day against an estimated capacity of just over 800,000 bpd (with potential for even higher capacity), leaving meaningful room for throughput upside.

In addition to increased volumes, Marketlink stands to gain from the portion of barrels moving under its volume incentive tariff. This tariff prices itself monthly based on the average MEH (Houston) versus WTI Cushing spread. With narrower spreads over the past 12 months, these rates typically settled near the floor of roughly $0.66–$1.00 per barrel depending on crude grade. However, at the current ~$4.00 spread level, the calculated incentive rates would now reach the ceiling range of $2.00–$2.30 per barrel. Although the exact volume under this tariff is not disclosed, the higher rates provide clear incremental revenue upside for Marketlink as long as the spread remains elevated.

Underutilized Rockies Corridor and Guernsey Hub as Cost-Effective Route for Canadian Heavy Crude

Last week, Plainview Energy Analytics and RBN Energy released their multi-client study “Roundabout,” which analyzes the growing importance of the Rockies corridor and the Guernsey, Wyoming hub as a strategic conduit for moving Canadian heavy crude to downstream markets, including the U.S. Gulf Coast. The study highlights significant underutilized pipeline assets that currently transport barrels from Canada into PADD 4 (Wyoming). One clear example is the eastern Montana–Wyoming border, where approximately 200,000 barrels per day of Canadian crude are already moving south into Wyoming.

The primary pipelines serving this corridor include the jointly owned Plains and Phillips 66 Western Corridor system (Glacier, Beartooth, and Bighorn pipelines) as well as Enbridge’s Express Pipeline. These systems are currently underutilized at this border point, with an estimated 125,000 barrels per day of latent capacity available. While bringing additional volumes forward would require upstream pipeline expansions or optimizations in Canada and Montana, the substantial available downstream capacity suggests strong potential for very economic and cost-effective projects to move more Canadian heavy barrels toward the Casper/Guernsey area and ultimately to Gulf Coast markets.

Special offer for current and future Plainview platform subscribers: Purchase the report from RBN Energy and you’ll receive a dollar-for-dollar credit toward an annual Plainview Platform subscription. This gives you ongoing access to the same interactive flow data, maps, and expanding library of regional supply-demand balances used in the analysis.

The report is now live and can be purchased here:
https://rbnenergy.com/analytics/studies/roundabout

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 300 assets with crude oil flow or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.

Special offer for current and future Plainview platform subscribers: Purchase the report from RBN Energy and you’ll receive a dollar-for-dollar credit toward an annual Plainview Platform subscription. This gives you ongoing access to the same interactive flow data, maps, and expanding library of regional supply-demand balances used in the analysis.

The report is now live and can be purchased here:
https://rbnenergy.com/analytics/studies/roundabout

Canadian crude output has climbed from 1.7 MMb/d in 1990 to ~5.1 MMb/d today, with RBN and Plainview projecting further growth to ~5.5 MMb/d by 2030. The dominant Enbridge Mainline (PADD 2) and Trans Mountain (West Coast) corridors still absorb most volumes, but both may be approaching their practical limits as optimization projects will eventually run into physical and economic constraints. As a result, the PADD 4 Rockies corridor is gaining serious traction as a potential path of least resistance. Existing systems already move ~400 Mb/d of Canadian crude into Montana and Wyoming, with meaningful expansion potential on the Express, Rangeland, and Bow River lines. A potential game-changer is also on the horizon: Bridger Pipeline’s proposed 550 Mb/d line from the Canadian border to Guernsey, possibly paired with South Bow’s Prairie Connector that would repurpose dormant Keystone XL infrastructure on the Canadian side.

With numerous potential expansions pushing incremental barrels toward Guernsey, the study also highlights the critical need for outbound egress solutions to more liquid markets like Cushing. Pony Express and Saddlehorn are already operating at or near full utilization, and any significant increase in Canadian inflows without matching takeaway capacity is an impossibility. The analysis explores viable paths forward out of Guernsey, including potential twinning of Pony Express, resurrection of the Liberty Pipeline route, a new connector pipeline to Steele City, or a patchwork of Guernsey-Northern Colorado-Cushing options.

The study dives deep with pipeline-by-pipeline flow data, granular sub-regional supply-demand balances (state-by-state and sub-state), production forecasts for Western Canada and the Rockies, multiple expansion scenarios, and detailed Guernsey pricing dynamics. If you want to understand how Canadian growth, Rockies pipeline logistics, and PADD 4 supply-demand balances are reshaping the North American crude map, this report is worth your time.

Let me know if you purchase it — happy to help redeem your credit or answer any questions. Contact: matthew.lewis@plainview-energy.com

Cushing-Houston WTI Spread Widens: Pipeline Upside for Seaway, Marketlink, and Energy Transfer

The ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global seaborne oil flows and causing oil prices to spike sharply. This has triggered a scramble for available open-water barrels, lifting prices for Brent-linked seaborne crude while landlocked U.S. barrels like WTI at Cushing remain relatively discounted. Coastal refineries, competing for scarcer imported supplies, face higher costs for Brent-priced barrels, widening differentials between key U.S. pricing points. Notably, the spread between WTI at Houston and WTI at Cushing, typically depressed post-COVID to $1–$1.50 per barrel due to ample pipeline capacity, has widened significantly to ~$3 per barrel.

This widening implies strong demand pulling barrels from Cushing toward the Gulf Coast to replace disrupted seaborne imports, likely filling pipelines such as Seaway, Marketlink, and Energy Transfer’s Centurion/Permian Express routes (shown in red below). With current market-based uncommitted tariffs averaging around $1 per barrel, the larger spread suggests these lines are now operating at or near full capacity. If the Hormuz disruption proves long-term, pipelines from Cushing to the Gulf could see substantial upside, enabling operators like Enterprise/Enbridge (via Seaway), South Bow (via Marketlink), and Energy Transfer to potentially increase volumes or raise market-based tariff rates on uncommitted barrels, boosting their economics amid the supply crunch.

Brent-WTI Spread Widens to $13–$14 in 2026 Iran Conflict: Boosting Bakken Crude Rail Shipments to U.S. Coasts?

The widened Brent-WTI spread, now hovering around $13–$14 per barrel amid the ongoing Iran conflict (compared to the typical $3–$5 range), has created a significant discount for WTI-priced U.S. crude. This dynamic encourages North American refiners (particularly those on the coasts) to favor cheaper domestic barrels linked to WTI hubs like Cushing, Guernsey, and Bakken over pricier waterborne imports benchmarked to Brent, which could boost rail shipments as an alternative to seaborne imports.

While several U.S. crude production areas could see an uptick in rail volumes, the Bakken stands out due to its history of substantial rail movements. In 2015, The Wall Street Journal compiled data on crude-by-rail shipments of Bakken crude across the U.S. The map below, though based on 2015 data, illustrates the historic routes these barrels traversed, with prominent paths to both East and West Coast refineries.

Map: Crude Oil Transported by Rail Source: State Emergency Response Commissions
© The Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Published December 3, 2014
https://graphics.wsj.com/crude-oil-by-rail/

Today, about 90% of Bakken rail volumes head to the West Coast and 10% to the East Coast. However, any sustained increase in rail movements faces hurdles: futures markets anticipate a sharp narrowing of the spread to under $6 by mid-2027, complicating efforts to lock in long-term favorable margins. Railroads also lack substantial spare capacity for rapid scaling, requiring time-consuming contracting and planning, challenges amplified by the expected near-term convergence of the spread.

Flow/Transaction Updates and New Assets Under Coverage

Plainview has over 300 assets with crude oil flow or transactional data on our platform and continues to add more each week. Data for existing assets under coverage are posted as soon as they become available. Below are the assets that were updated this week or newly added to coverage.