MPLX Cancels Permian Pipeline, Ford Halts Plant Expansion as COVID-19 Delays Mount

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As U.S. officials grapple with the ever-growing list of COVID-19 cases, industrial leaders are conveying uncertainty as to how truly long-lasting the impact will be on the markets. This list of project delays and cancellations is growing at a fast pace, even in recently prosperous places like the Permian Basin. Industrial Info is tracking about $900 billion in active projects worldwide that have been delayed or otherwise affected by COVID-19, including nearly $170 billion worth in the U.S.

Click here for a global list of affected projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing global projects to be affected by COVID-19, by industry.

Earlier this week, the Oil & Gas Pipeline Industry witnessed the outright cancellation of a proposed, multi-phase project: MPLX LP's (NYSE:MPLX) (Findlay, Ohio) Belvieu Alternative NGL (BANGL) Pipeline, which was designed to carry up to 500,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of raw natural gas liquid (NGL) from Orla, Texas, which is in the Permian Basin, to Sweeney, Texas, which is on the Gulf Coast. In a quarterly earnings-related conference call, Chief Executive Officer Michael Hennigan said the recent collapse in oil prices and demand have forced the company to instead focus on expanding capacity at existing pipelines.

"We wanted to not commit to that full scope until we were really sure that the volume commitments would be there," Hennigan told reporters and analysts. "With what's happening in the market, the volume commitments are slower." For more information on the estimated $850 million mainline, see Industrial Info's project report; for a list of associated pump stations also now cancelled, click here.

Other Oil & Gas Industry projects across the U.S. are facing less certain fates. Problems related to COVID-19 have only added to the challenges facing Royal Dutch Shell plc's (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) long-delayed, $1.2 billion Project LOTUS at its chemical complex in Geismar, Louisiana. The ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol unit would produce an estimated 2.4 billion pounds per year of mono-ethylene glycol. But it now is facing further evaluations, and a final investment decision has been pushed back from fourth-quarter 2020 to second-quarter 2022. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Uncertainty persists outside the energy markets, as well. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Detroit, Michigan) recently admitted it expects pretax losses to reach at least $5 billion in the second quarter, following a net loss of $2 billion in the first quarter. With no commercial automobiles manufactured in April, the iconic company is indefinitely delaying its proposed, $700 million expansion of its truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan, which is designed to produce hybrid and fully electric versions of its F-150 model. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Despite last year's successful startup of a new, 500,000-ton-per-year galvanizing line at its Gallatin Thin Slab Steel Mill in Ghent, Kentucky, which it calls the "widest hot-rolled galvanizing line in North America," Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina) is pausing capital spending indefinitely for an estimated $500 million mill expansion. The addition is designed to boost the full facility's output from 1.6 million to 3 million tons per year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the proposed expansion and the newest completed line.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.