Sentinel Midstream has continued paperwork progress to build the first deepwater oil terminal in the Gulf in decades, garnering approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In a letter dated Oct. 25, the EPA notified the U.S. Department of Maritime Administration that it “did not object to the issuance of a license” for Sentinel’s Texas GulfLink Deepwater Port.
Sentinel did not respond to a request for comment.
The deepwater port, which Sentinel would build off the southeast coast of Texas, would be able to load tankers at a rate of 85,000 bbl/hr. The project, backed by Crest Fund Management, is built to handle traffic from very large crude carriers (VLCCs). Thanks to the growth in Permian Basin oil production, midstream companies are seeking ways to increase the flow of traffic from the Gulf Coast.
In August, Texas GulfLink received its final environmental impact statement from the Maritime Administration, a key step in the long-term permitting process for the facility. The Maritime Administration is expected to make the final permitting decision for the project by Dec. 12, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 1
There is currently only one operational offshore deepwater export facility in the U.S., the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), located off the east side of the Louisiana coast. The LOOP has been in service for more than 40 years, but only started operating as an export terminal in 2018.
According to an analysis by RBN Energy, there are currently three other proposed deepwater oil terminal projects in the Gulf—one proposed by Energy Transfer, one by Enterprise Products Partners and a joint project sponsored by Phillips 66 and Trafigura.
All of the proposed projects face opposition from environmental and local groups. The EPA’s approval letter was released by Earthworks, an environmental group against the project.