Enterprise Products wins U.S. approval to build Texas oil terminal (NYSE:EPD)

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) confirmed Tuesday it has received the deepwater port license for the Sea Port Oil Terminal from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which enables it to move forward in developing the Texas Gulf Coast terminal capable of loading 2M bbl/day of crude oil.

The SPOT terminal will be only the fourth in the U.S. able to load supertankers, and is designed to load Very Large Crude Carriers and other crude oil tankers up to a rate of 85K barrels per hour.

Enterprise Products (EPD) said bi-directional pipelines will be built that connect to its new Oyster Creek crude oil terminal in Brazoria County, Texas, to be constructed ~10 miles inland.

With a direct connection to Enterprise’s (EPD) Houston ECHO terminal, as well as an extensive integrated midstream network, SPOT will offer access to more than 40 distinct grades of crude oil including Midland WTI, the company said.

The terminal, which was initially proposed in 2019, has faced several delays including opposition from environmental groups and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the DoT’s prior approval of the project, dismissing claims brought by environmentalists that the government had failed to meet the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act or the Deepwater Port Act.