Port Corpus Christi ends Harbor Island terminal lease

Lone Star Ports LLC lost its lease to build a $1 billion oil export terminal on Harbor Island the same week it won approval for a draft air quality permit for that same terminal from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Port of Corpus Christi commissioners ended the 50-year lease agreement with Lone Star Ports at their regular meeting Tuesday, March 16. 
Lone Star Ports planned to build a $1 billion loading facility on the island that could accommodate very large crude carriers, ships capable of loading up to 2 million barrels of oil (318,000 metric-tons).
The two local environmental groups formed to fight industrial development on Harbor Island were happy though skeptical that the lost lease means the end of the port’s development plans. 
“Port Aransas has prospered thanks to a thoughtful balance between industry expansion and environmental protection,” the Texas Coastal Coalition posted on its Facebook page after the TCEQ decision and before the port commissioners’ vote. “That’s all about to change.” 
The coastal coalition supports building offshore terminals to load ships too large to come into the ship channel. 
The Port Aransas Conservancy immediately posted a question on its Facebook page following the vote: “Why? What is their scheme now?” 
The group also posted a video of the commissioners casting the unanimous vote without any public discussion following a one-hour-long executive session on the topic.
Commissioners cited section 2.3(E) of the lease as the reason for termination but did not clarify the reason, even in an emailed response to reporters’ questions. A spokesperson sent a statement thanking Lone Star Ports for its investments in the community and said the port authority “remains dedicated to the development of a VLCC-loading facility on Harbor Island.” 
The port recently partnered with Bluewater Texas Terminal to build two offshore export terminals about 21 nautical miles from the mouth of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. The vote came in December 2020, 18 months after the port initially voiced disapproval of the offshore alternatives to Harbor Island terminals. 
Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC is a 50-50 joint venture between Phillips 66 and Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. Its agreement with the portincludes leasing 12 acres of non-waterfront land for an operations facility on Harbor Island, which will include an office and equipment storage.