Plains GP Holdings LP
PAGP
Energy
2
exclusion reasons
2 themes
This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
Plains GP Holdings LP operates a midstream energy infrastructure network that is central to the transportation, storage, and processing of fossil fuels. Its primary assets include an extensive system of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines, storage caverns, terminals, and processing facilities strategically located across key U.S. producing basins. This infrastructure is essential for the continued flow of oil and gas from wellhead to market.
The company has a documented history of significant environmental violations related to this core activity. ViolationTracker records a total of $304 million in penalties across 24 environmental enforcement actions. This includes a single oil spill penalty of $230 million. A major 2020 settlement with the U.S. government, requiring over $60 million in penalties and cleanup costs, stemmed from a 2010 case resolving Clean Water Act violations for ten crude oil spills across four states. These repeated incidents and penalties indicate systemic operational failures in the company's pipeline and storage network.
Plains GP Holdings LP, through its subsidiary Plains All American Pipeline, has accumulated over $304 million in penalties for environmental violations across 24 enforcement records documented by ViolationTracker. This includes a single $230 million penalty for an oil spill and an additional $74 million across 23 other environmental violation cases.
The company has a documented history of major crude oil spills. In 2010, a Clean Water Act settlement resolved violations for ten spills across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas. More recently, in a 2024 California case, Plains was found liable for a pipeline rupture that discharged over 142,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean and onto a public beach. The litigation history indicates ongoing legal exposure, with court documents showing the company has moved for summary adjudication on punitive damage claims in other spill-related cases. Regulatory filings note the company faces potential penalties of up to $1 million per day per violation from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for pollution incidents.
Research Sources
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