NuStar Energy shipping dock at the Port of Corpus Christi. NuStar was recently ranked by Fortune magazine as one of the top companies to work for. NuStar has made the list the last seven years.
Demand for space along the waterfront in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel continues as yet another company asks for more from the Port of Corpus Christi. A request by NuStar Energy to lease 5.4 acres of waterfront for an oil dock for larger vessels was granted by the board of commissioners at its July 21 meeting.
NuStar is currently building six 200,000-barrel storage tanks at its north terminal, necessitating larger cargo ships. The planned oil dock, which should begin operation in mid 2017, will accommodate ships big enough to carry about 1 million barrels — Suezmax class ships.
Annual rent was set at $466,276 to move a minimum of 29.2 million barrels of liquid bulk cargo a year. In addition, NuStar would pay 58 percent of the port’s full wharfage rate for each barrel of liquid bulk cargo loaded or unloaded at the dock. That amount will vary by month.
“The addition of this new dock further expands our premier position in the highly desirable Corpus Christi Ship Channel,” said Brad Barron, NuStar President and CEO. “It is an important part of our ongoing commitment to provide our customers with more options to move barrels of Eagle Ford crude oil.”
CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
Another company expanding at the port, Gravity Midstream, is investing $150 million to take over an inactive crude oil terminal there. The move, which should be completed by September 15, is expected to create 44 full-time jobs.
Cheniere Energy and Magellan Pipeline Company are also expanding their import/export needs for the port.
Magellan recently received clearance from federal regulators to build a $250 million condensate splitter at its existing site near the port. The plant will have the capacity to process 50,000 barrels of condensate per day. The condensate uses the ultra-light oil from Eagle Ford Shale.
Earlier this year, Cheniere received a critical natural gas export license from the federal government. Cheniere can now export as much as 2.1 billion cubic feed per day of liquefied natural gas over the next 20 years. The processing plant, which is expected to cost around $1 billion, will be built at Cheniere’s current facility in Ingleside on the La Quinta Channel, on the northeast side of Corpus Christi Bay. A 22-mile pipeline will feed the plant with natural gas.
