NEW YORK—Jupiter MLP LLC, a Dallas-based logistics company, has secured permits to expand a crude export dock at the Port of Brownsville in Texas, the latest in a series of moves made by U.S. companies to tap into booming overseas shipments.
The expanded dock space will be able to accommodate Suezmax-size vessels, the company said in a statement May 17.
Privately-held Jupiter has also begun the permitting process to build an offshore supertanker loading facility six miles off the coast of Texas.
The facility will be connected to the expanded dock and will be able to load a supertanker or VLCC, the largest oil tankers which can ship some 2 million barrels of oil, within 48 hours. The terminal would be served by a Permian Basin pipeline.
The company is currently evaluating several co-investment proposals and potential off-take agreements, Jupiter executive John Calce said. The projects won’t be completed until 2020 at the earliest, Calce said.
U.S. crude exports have surged since Washington lifted a decades-old ban in late 2015, hitting a record 2.6 million barrels per day last week.
Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately-owned crude terminal in the United States, and Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD) have both been testing crude supertanker capabilities over the past two months. Last year, Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s (NYSE: OXY) Ingleside terminal at Corpus Christi test-loaded a supertanker.
The port of Brownsville is close to Texas’s Permian Basin and serves as a gateway of sorts into the Mexican fuel market.
Production in the Permian, the largest U.S. oilfield, has been the biggest driver of U.S. shale output and is expected to rise to a record 3.28 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in June.
In 2017, Mexico was the destination for more than 1 million bbl/d of petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel, worth over $23 billion compared with 880,000 bbl/d in 2016.
Recommended Reading
Brett: Oil M&A Outlook is Strong, Even With Bifurcation in Valuations
2024-04-18 - Valuations across major basins are experiencing a very divergent bifurcation as value rushes back toward high-quality undeveloped properties.
Marketed: BKV Chelsea 214 Well Package in Marcellus Shale
2024-04-18 - BKV Chelsea has retained EnergyNet for the sale of a 214 non-operated well package in Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties, Pennsylvania.
Triangle Energy, JV Set to Drill in North Perth Basin
2024-04-18 - The Booth-1 prospect is planned to be the first well in the joint venture’s —Triangle Energy, Strike Energy and New Zealand Oil and Gas — upcoming drilling campaign.
PGS, TGS Merger Clears Norwegian Authorities, UK Still Reviewing
2024-04-17 - Energy data companies PGS and TGS said their merger has received approval by Norwegian authorities and remains under review by the U.K. Competition Market Authority.
Energy Systems Group, PacificWest Solutions to Merge
2024-04-17 - Energy Systems Group and PacificWest Solutions are expanding their infrastructure and energy services offerings with the merger of the two companies.