March 12, 2013 [OPIS] - Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved a letter of intent with Vopak Terminals North America to study development of a 28-acre site on Pier T as a deep-water terminal for crude oil and petroleum products.
The Port Authority of Long Beach said late Friday a preliminary agreement sets basic deal terms and green-lights an environmental impact study of a liquid bulk terminal for petroleum tanker ships. The terminal would be the fourth crude oil terminal in the Port of Long Beach, and the first in the port complex since 1983.
All relevant environmental, safety and security issues would be reviewed as part of the environmental study.
It would take up to four-and-a-half years to do a full environmental review, design, permit and construct the new terminal. If the environmental impact report, or EIR, is certified and plans approved, the port would conduct about $37 million worth of dredging and other waterside improvements, and Vopak would invest $120 million on land-side improvements for the first phase of construction.
On land, the terminal would be served by nearby pipeline connections to oil and petroleum product distribution facilities and oil refineries.
The port currently has three crude oil terminals: a BP terminal on Pier T, a BP Terminal on Pier B and a Tesoro terminal on Pier B.
Estimated annual throughput at the new terminal would range from 21 million to 55 million bbl of oil per year. Currently, about 200 million bbl of oil are brought into the Port of Long Beach each year. Under the preliminary agreement, the port would receive at least $2.9 million annually in revenue once the terminal is constructed, for phase one. The project would have up to three phases.
Vopak is a division of the Rotterdam, Netherlands-based Royal Vopak, the world’s largest operator of liquid bulk marine facilities.
