Pin Oak Terminals LLC, a subsidiary of Pin Oak Holdings LLC, is advancing plans to build a $600-million petroleum liquids storage terminal along the east bank of the Mississippi River in Mt. Airy, St. John the Baptist Parish, La., at the Port of South Louisiana.
The proposed project has gained permits to construct storage for as much as 10 million bbl of crude oil, refined products, and chemicals on its 431-acre site, which lies near the St. John the Baptist-St. James Parish line to enable reception and shipping of petroleum liquids and chemicals by rail, pipeline, barge, ship, and truck to and from both domestic and export markets, the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) said.
Designed to provide offloading, storage, heating, blending, and transfer services for crude, refined products, and chemicals, the terminal also will be equipped to provide those same services for vacuum gas oil, naphtha, base oils, ethanol and vegoil, Pin Oak said.
With construction on the project due to begin by yearend, the terminal is scheduled for commissioning by late 2016, LED said.
Plans for a first phase of the proposed terminal have been under way since October 2012, when Pin Oak and LED first entered discussions regarding the potential project.
Possible future developments of the site, however, already are in the works, according to Paul Aucoin, executive director of the Port of South Louisiana.
“[Pin Oak] has plans to significantly expand Phase 1 of its operations over the next 5 years, Aucoin said.
Details regarding future planned expansions of the terminal were not disclosed.
Site specifics
Situated within 25 miles of four refineries with a combined crude refining capacity of more than 1.3 million b/d, the terminal site—which already has secured Foreign Trade Zone status by the US Department of Commerce—is equipped with marine facilities located along a portion of the deepest sections of the Mississippi River (48-ft draft) that will feature two Aframax ship and connecting barge docks, Pin Oak said in a project description.
Additionally, two Class-I railroads (Kansas City Southern, Canadian National) cross the property, on which Pin Oak already has been permitted to build a full unit-train loop on site that will be capable of handling two unit trains without tying up use of the railroad’s mainline.
At least eleven crude, refined products, NGL, and natural gas pipelines also run directly through the terminal site, Pin Oak said.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
