Enterprise aims for 3Q approval of offshore Texas port

Enterprise Products Partners is hoping federal regulators approve its planned offshore crude export terminal in the third quarter.

The US Maritime Administration is reviewing Enterprise's application for the Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) off the coast of Freeport, Texas, which will be able to fully load very large crude carriers (VLCCs).

Enterprise is hoping to get a permit in the third quarter, co-chief executive Jim Teague said in an interview with Argus today. "God knows we've got a lot of money just in the permitting process," he said.

Enterprise made a final investment decision on SPOT last year after signing term contracts for crude transport, storage and marine services with Chevron, a key oil producer in the Permian basin. SPOT includes two crude pipelines running from the port to the shore. Two single-point mooring buoys will be able to load and export oil at about 85,000 bl/hour.

The number of US offshore VLCC export projects has narrowed in the wake of Covid-19 and its economic consequences. Only four major projects are still in the works, including SPOT. Sentinel Midstream and Energy Transfer each have an offshore VLCC project. A fourth is a joint plan by Phillips 66 and Trafigura.

Enterprise also said today that its 450,000 b/d Midland-to-Echo 3 crude pipeline, which started initial service in October, is now moving about 300,000 b/d from Midland to the Houston area. The pipeline is part of a larger system known as Wink-to-Webster, headed by ExxonMobil.

Enterprise is also weighing a future expansion of its joint venture 950,000 b/d Seaway crude pipeline system from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Houston, but that plan is on hold for now.

"It is a project that we have on the shelf, when the time is right and the project is needed, we will be ready to react," said chief commercial officer Brent Secrest.

Seaway is a joint venture with Enbridge, which recently agreed to purchase about 6.6mn bl of storage at Cushing from Blueknight Energy Partners, pushing its total to 26mn bl, about one-third of the total storage at Cushing.

Teague will be one of the keynote speakers at the Argus Crude Live virtual conference on 26-28 January.

By Eunice Bridges