Plans for an oil export terminal off the shore of Padre Island National Park have been canned in favor of two single-point moorings about 20 miles east of the entrance to the Port of Corpus Christi. This new proposal — a joint venture between Trafigura and Phillips 66 — has the support of the Port of Corpus Christi, unlike the first announced venture.
Single-port moorings allow the largest of crude carriers to load up to 2 million barrels of oil per ship off shore, away from population centers and natural wetlands. Pipelines are required from shore to the single-port moorings to carry the product from land to ship.
When Trafigura first announced its proposal in August 2018, the port objected saying offshore terminals did not properly contain vapors released into the air during loading. Dock releases are regulated by state law requiring vapor-recovery systems.
“When you go outside the state waters, they are just releasing those vapors into the atmosphere,” said Port CEO Sean Strawbridge at a July 2018 meeting of the Port Aransas Conservancy.
State waters begin 9 nautical miles from shore.
The conservancy has been critical of the port’s proposal to build terminals on Harbor Island and the port’s dredging projects in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Instead, the conservancy supported offshore terminals that would keep the bigger ships out to sea and away from Port Aransas residents and marine life.
Trafigura recently pulled its permit request for an oil terminal 13 miles from Padre Island National Seashore in favor of the new location. The Port of Corpus Christi announced it will lease the property and rights-of-way necessary for the project.
The 50-50 partnership between Trafigura and Phillips 66, Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC, will be constructed by Phillips 66. The project is currently in the permitting stage.
“… We are committed to developing a project that provides economic benefits for the local economy while being designed to ensure safe and environmentally sustainable operations,” stated a media release from Phillips 66.
The company has operated a similar offshore terminal in the United Kingdom since 1971.
“We salute Phillips 66 and Trafigura for agreeing to partner in a single-point mooring export facility, and for recognizing the Port as an integral part of the success of this ambitious yet much needed capability,” Strawbridge said in a media release.
In January 2019, Coastal Bend officials voiced opposition to the proposed offshore terminal near Padre Island National Seashore. In passing a resolution against that terminal, Nueces County commissioners refused, however, to endorse the land-based export terminal on Harbor Island.
Other local entities passing resolutions opposing the Trafigura terminal were the Corpus Christi City Council, the Aransas Pass and Ingleside chambers of commerce, San Patricio County and Corpus Christi economic development corporations, the city of Gregory, and the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau.