Enterprise Products Partners (EPP) LP’s 85,000-bbl/hr Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) has received its record of decision (ROD) from the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD). The terminal, for which EPP hopes to receive a license by 2023, is designed to load tankers up to 2-million bbl in capacity (VLCC), which would take 1 day at SPOT’s designed loading rate.
SPOT consists of a fixed-platform, deepwater port in the Gulf of Mexico about 30 nautical miles off the coast of Texas in 115 ft of water. It will be connected to 4.8 million bbl of onshore crude oil storage in Brazoria County, Tex., by two 36-in. bidirectional pipelines.
EPP said SPOT’s design will reduce carbon dioxide and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 65% and 94%, respectively, compared with current industry practices.
MARAD and the US Coast Guard led the 4-year environmental review of this project. ROD includes reviews by more than a dozen Federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency, as well as reviews and approvals by the State of Texas. Remaining conditions include routine construction, operating, and decommissioning guarantees, submission of public outreach, wetland restoration and VOC monitoring plans, and other state approvals.