DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL) said Wednesday it is seeking customers for a proposed pipeline that would transport crude oil from West Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, the third such pipeline the company has proposed since February. The 40,000 barrel-a-day pipeline would bring the crude oil to Nederland, Texas, 90 miles west of Houston and near the Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline would give fuel producers in the Houston refining hub greater access to West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, crude oil, currently at a $17 discount to Brent crude oil amid a supply bottleneck that is ballooning inventories. The pipeline should be operational by 2013, the company said. The project is a partnership with Mobil Pipeline Co., a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM). Sunoco Logistics didn't disclose the expected cost of the project. A Sunoco Logistics spokesman wasn't immediately available to comment. In February, Sunoco Logistics disclosed two other pipeline projects to bring West Texas crude oil to Gulf Coast. A 40,000 barrel-a-day pipeline would connect to Houston by April 2012 and a 30,000 barrel-a-day pipeline to transport oil to Longview, Texas, by January 2013. Sunoco Inc. (SUN) owns the general partner interest of Sunoco Logistics. -By Ben Lefebvre, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; ben.lefebvre@dowjones.com
