Federal regulators issue approval for offshore Texas oil export facility
Offshore staff
WASHINGTON, DC – Federal regulators have approved the construction of the Sea Port Oil Terminal, a new offshore crude oil export terminal capable of fully loading very large crude carriers in the Gulf of Mexico. The project is being developed by Enbridge Inc. and Enterprise Products Partners L.P.
The project aims to improve the efficiency of oil exports from the Texas coast, where smaller tankers currently ferry oil from coastal depots to larger ships that wait in deeper water, miles offshore. The new port would be located off Freeport, Texas, with an export capacity of two million barrels per day.
The approval by the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration laid out a series of final steps for the Sea Port Oil Terminal to receive a license and begin construction.
The proposed facility would consist of two co-located 36-in., 40.8-nautical mile long crude oil pipelines, constructed from the shoreline crossing in Brazoria County, Texas, to the SPOT port for crude oil delivery.
The port would connect to two Single Point Mooring (SPM) buoys through pipeline laterals. The SPM buoy system would be positioned in water depths of approximately 115 ft and consist of a pipeline end manifold, catenary anchor leg mooring system, and other associated equipment. Two 24-in. floating crude hoses will load the crude onto the world’s largest crude oil tankers.
The Sea Port Oil Terminal is expected to start operations by the end of 2025.
11.30.2022
