Falling pace of supply disrupts US petroleum pipeline system

New York

HARVEY is putting a new spotlight on a spaghetti-like network of petroleum pipelines that run across the plains and fields of Texas, disrupting the ability of at least two major Gulf Coast conduits to send fuels north.

The 5,500-mile (8,850km) Colonial Pipeline, a top transporter of petrol for the north-east, has closed part of its line after "the pace of supply" fell from refiners damaged by the storm. Meanwhile, Explorer Pipeline Inc shut its lines to Tulsa and Chicago citing similar issues.

Why is the pace of supply so important? You need fuel to push fuel. Pumps at the start of a pipe get things moving, and those at its end suck product out. But it…