Shell has decided to cancel its proposed Louisiana-to-Texas Westward Ho crude oil pipeline project (United States) after years of hurdles, due to degraded market conditions.
Shell had announced the project in 2011 to transport crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico and imported oil from the St. James, in Louisiana oil hub to Houston in Texas. The project had a maximum capacity of 900000 bbl/d and capacity of the leg from Nederland and Houston in Texas was planned to reach 500,000 bbl/d. The project was due to start in late 2015. However, low interest from shippers prompted the company to reduce the project's capacity to 300,000 bbl/d in 2012 and alternative projects reduced again the interest for the project. Westward Ho was put on hold in October 2014 and Shell pushed the target commissioning date to late 2017. Degraded market conditions incited Shell to cancel a second open season and to scrap the project.