Bluewater

In the race to build the next deepwater crude oil export terminal in the Gulf of Mexico, Sentinel Midstream’s proposed Texas GulfLink (TGL) has become one of the frontrunners. TGL’s plan gained its crucial Record of Decision (ROD) Approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on February 14, but there is still some distance to go before a final investment decision (FID) is reached. In today’s RBN blog we’ll discuss Sentinel’s TGL plan, why it might be uniquely positioned to move forward, and the other contenders still in play. 

The four deepwater crude oil export projects under development along the U.S. Gulf Coast are getting closer to receiving their regulatory go-aheads after years of planning and millions of dollars spent. In fact, Enterprise’s Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) received its license in April. These projects have sparked commercial and wider market interest because of the many benefits they may provide — including the ability to fully load 2-MMbbl Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) without any reverse lightering. In today’s RBN blog, we highlight key insights from our new Drill Down Report on the four projects, the potential benefits and the challenges they face. 

The four deepwater crude oil export projects under development along the U.S. Gulf Coast are getting closer to receiving their regulatory go-aheads after years of planning and millions of dollars spent. In fact, Enterprise’s Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) received its license in April. These projects have sparked commercial and wider market interest because of the many benefits they may provide — including the ability to fully load 2-MMbbl Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) without any reverse lightering. In today’s RBN blog, we highlight key insights from our new Drill Down Report on the four projects, the potential benefits and the challenges they face. 

Bluewater Texas, proposed by a 50/50 joint venture (JV) of Phillips 66 (P66) and commodity trading giant Trafigura, is in a unique position in the race to construct a deepwater crude oil export facility along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Of the four marketed deepwater proposals, Bluewater is the only project in the export-centric Corpus Christi market. It is also the only one in the group that does not include an offshore platform in its scope. In today’s RBN blog, we will explore these and other differences that set Bluewater apart. 

Only 20 years after Colonel Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well in Titusville, PA, in 1859, the U.S. was responsible for 85% of global crude oil production and refining. But over the next century, the country became increasingly dependent on oil imports — concerningly so at times. Thanks to the Shale Revolution, the U.S. is now on the verge of a sea change in the supply-and-demand dynamics for crude oil, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products. In the coming years, as U.S. crude production continues to increase, essentially all incremental barrels will flow to export markets, possibly through one or more of the new offshore terminals under development off the U.S. Gulf Coast. Export growth — and the midstream infrastructure needed to facilitate it — was one of many topics covered at our recent xPortCon 2023 and the subject of today’s RBN blog, which also announces the availability of videos from last Thursday’s packed-to-the-gills conference.