From Reuters:
The U.S. shale oil revolution can't be stopped, but it could be delayed by a potential shortfall of 10-ton valves and giant pipeline pumps essential for rebalancing markets upended by the surge in production.
Amid an unanticipated boom in inland oil output that turned the domestic market upside down last year, firms from Enterprise Products Partners to Shell Pipeline and Plains All American have launched a $20 billion bonanza to build, expand or reverse two dozen pipelines in the past year.
But as they help effectively to switch the flow of oil from the north to southern refineries and relieve the glut of cut-price, landlocked crude, concerns are growing that the firms that make key pipeline components may be straining to keep pace.
"The supply chain hasn't quite caught up," said Terry McGill, president of Enbridge Energy Co Inc, the U.S. division of Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge Inc, which has some $4 billion worth of U.S. projects on the books....MUCH MORE
HT: Gongloff
