February 24, 2017 [OPIS] - Howard Midstream Energy Partners (HEP) said on Thursday that it plans to significantly expand its bulk liquids terminal in Port Arthur, Texas, after executing a long-term terminal services agreement (TSA) with a third-party shipper.
Under the TSA, HEP will construct or install more than 15 new tanks adding more than 1 million bbl of storage for a variety of products, and construct new marine facilities for both blue water and inland marine vessels. Additionally, the company plans to construct a pipeline system to transport products between the HEP’s Port Arthur facilities and other third-party supply points.
Permitting for the development of the Port Arthur Terminal began in the first quarter of 2016. HEP said that final engineering of the facilities and pipelines is underway and construction is expected to begin in March.
The facility is projected to take 18 months to construct, and operations are expected to begin in 2018. If warranted by future demand, HEP’s Port Arthur Terminal can be expanded to include up to 24 million bbl of storage and multiple blue water and inland marine docks.
“HEP’s Port Arthur facility is uniquely positioned to provide an efficient solution for shippers seeking alternatives to Houston facilities that continue to experience high volumes of marine traffic and subsequent demurrage,” said Mark Helmke, HEP’s senior vice president of terminals and transportation.”Our proximity to over 1.4 million barrels of local refining capacity and significant refined product pipeline infrastructure, such as Explorer Pipeline and Colonial Pipeline, make this terminal a logical clearinghouse for refined products.
HEP’s 450-acre Port Arthur facility sits only 13 miles off the Gulf of Mexico and provides access to numerous refineries, chemical plants and nearby pipelines, the company said. The site currently includes more than eight miles of rail with a unit-train loop track and railcar loading/unloading facilities, four storage tanks with a total capacity of 230,000 bbl, and more than 3,000 feet of deep-water frontage, it added.
San Antonio-based HEP is an independent midstream energy company, owning and operating natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, natural gas liquids processing plants, rail facilities, liquid storage terminals, deep-water port facilities and other related midstream assets in Texas and Pennsylvania. The company has corporate offices in San Antonio, Houston and Mexico City.
