Sempra proposes Gulf Coast terminal, storage facility

Source: OGJ
By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Jan. 10 -- Sempra Energy proposed construction of a marine petroleum terminal and storage facility in Port Arthur, Tex., to improve tanker access to refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont.

San Diego, Calif.-based Sempra initiated an open-season solicitation for potential customers interested in purchasing terminal capacity.

An initial phase of the proposed terminal would provide storage and transportation for oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and related products. Vessels carrying oil and products to the Port Arthur region's refineries currently are limited by long, inner-waterway voyages restricted to daylight hours, Sempra said.

Its proposed terminal would allow 24-hr marine terminal access with an initial, first-phase throughput of up to 500,000 b/d. The project's first phase would require about 120 acres of the 2,900 acres Sempra Energy owns near Port Arthur.

The property also is the proposed site of a larger energy complex that includes the planned development of a LNG project capable of storing and regasifying up to 3 bcfd of gas.

The LNG terminal construction awaits Sempra's obtaining sufficient LNG supply and capacity agreements, the company said.