HOUSTON– Enterprise Products Partners L.P. TEPPCO Partners, L.P. and Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. today announced they have formed a joint venture to design, construct, own and operate a new Texas offshore crude oil port and pipeline system to facilitate delivery of waterborne crude oil to refining centers along the upper Texas Gulf Coast. The initiative will provide an efficient alternative to offshore lightering and inland dock operations.
The Texas Offshore Port System (“TOPS”) project would include an offshore port, two onshore storage facilities with approximately 5.1 million barrels of total crude oil storage capacity, and an associated 160-mile pipeline system with the capacity to deliver up to 1.8 million barrels per day (BPD) of crude oil. System capacity could be expanded with construction of additional offshore facilities. Development of the offshore port system and onshore infrastructure is supported by long-term contracts with Motiva Enterprises LLC and an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation, which together have committed a total volume of approximately 725,000 BPD.