May 9, 2022 [Argus] – Enterprise Products Partners increased marine terminal volumes of crude oil by about 23pc in the first quarter from the prior three-month period, but volumes continued to lag behind pre-pandemic levels.

Enterprise moved about 796,000 b/d of crude at its marine terminals in the first quarter, up from 649,000 b/d in the prior quarter and 572,000 b/d a year earlier.

Marine crude volumes are still well below the pre-pandemic peak of 980,000 b/d set in the third quarter of 2019, before efforts to contain Covid-19 caused global demand to plummet.

Total marine volumes — including cargoes of crude, refined products, LPG and petrochemicals — were steady with a year earlier at 6.5mn b/d. Volumes of crude shipped on Enterprise’s pipelines fell to 2.2mn b/d, down by 4pc from a year earlier but still nearly even with pre-Covid-19 levels.

In the long term, Enterprise plans to vastly increase the scale of crude exports with an offshore terminal capable of fully loading very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which can hold up to 2mn bl.

The Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) off the coast of Freeport, Texas, would include two single-point mooring buoys that will be able to load and export oil at about 85,000 bl/hr. The project also involves building two crude pipelines running from the port to the shore.

Enterprise made a final investment decision on SPOT in 2020 after signing term contracts for crude transport, storage and marine services with Chevron, a key Permian basin producer. The US Maritime Administration is reviewing the project.

Only one US port is able to fully load a VLCC — the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (Loop) about 20 miles (32km) off the coast from Grand Isle, Louisiana.

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