By Devika Krishna Kumar
NEW YORK, Feb 18 (Reuters) - TC Energy Corp TRP.TO has declared force majeure on crude oil deliveries at destinations in Texas on its Marketlink pipeline, citing power outages caused by severe cold weather in the state, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Oil producers, pipelines and refiners in Texas and New Mexico have halted operations as they grapple with a rare deep freeze, which left nearly two dozen people dead and knocked out power to millions. Marketlink pipeline has a capacity of 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) and flows south from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Nederland, Texas, according to WoodMackenzie. The line is connected to the Keystone oil pipeline system, a key transporter of Canadian crude from northern Alberta to refineries in the U.S. Midwest.
A TC Energy spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company told shippers on Wednesday night the system is still operational, but that they were facing issues making deliveries at Houston and Port Arthur, Texas, facilities due to power outages, according to the notice seen by Reuters.
More than 2 million bpd of pipeline capacity into the Gulf Coast was shut at some point on Monday, according to WoodMac, as freezing temperatures gripped the Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico, the top producing shale basin in the country.