46 percent for the three next largest producing regions combined: the 

 North, and North Central, Pacific Coast, and Mid Atlantic Coast. The 

 abundance of refining capacity in the Gulf Coast region is simply the 

 result of the prolific production of the oil fields of Texas, Louisiana, 

 and the Gulf of Mexico. The proximity of Gulf Coast refining capacity 

 to navigable waters, especially deep water, has also given it access to 

 yet another source of crude foreign imports. For years, Gulf Coast 

 refineries have received Venezuelan oil and now are increasingly receiving 

 eastern hemisphere crude. 



From the Gulf Coast refining region, large diameter product pipelines 

 extend throughout the southeast and into the northeast as far as the 

 Mid Atlantic coastal region. The main pipelines are the Dixie, Plantation, 

 and Colonial systems. 



The refining capacity of the mid-continent region was originally 

 constructed in response to the oil production of the Oklahoma and eastern 

 Kansas fields. In recent years, as mid-continent crude production has 

 declined, its growth has been fueled by crude piped in from the Gulf 

 Coast region. Future crude supplies will probably come from abroad. It 

 appears that crude imports will be brought in through the proposed 

 Seadock "deepwater port" (an offshore anchored transfer station) off 

 Freeport, Texas, and then move northward through numerous crude pipelines. 

 Two new crude lines are presently under construction to handle these 

 probable imports: (1) Seaway Pipeline Company's new 36-inch diameter 

 pipeline to Gushing, Oklahoma, and (2) the 426-mile 26-inch Texoma line 

 from Nederland, Texas, to Cushing, Oklahoma. 



The refining capacity of the North Central region grew prior to the 

 1950's in response to oil production in southern Illinois and Indiana, 

 and in Ohio. This growth has been sustained in recent years by Gulf 

 Coast crude and by imported crude piped into the region via the Central 

 American Pipeline system (CAPLINE) and the Mid-Valley system. 



The refining capacity of the Mid Atlantic coast has run primarily 

 on imported oil tankered into the region. Imports have come predominantly 

 from Venezuela and the Caribbean, but these sources are gradually being 

 displaced by eastern hemisphere crude predominantly from Nigeria and the 

 Persian Gulf, and to some extent, from North Africa. Most of this 

 area's refining capacity is located in the coastal zone , with product 

 distribution throughout this region and the Northeast handled by small 

 tankers and barges. 



The Mid Atlantic region, despite being the most heavily populated 

 in the U.S., has only 11 percent of the Nation's refining capacity. A 

 main reason for this is that the Mid Atlantic receives refined products 

 via pipelines from the Gulf Coast region and via smaller tankers from 

 the Caribbean where, in both cases, there are refineries located in 

 proximity to the oil fields. 



11 



