The tgti offshore port

On July 9, 2018 Texas Gulf Terminals Inc. (TGTI) submitted a deepwater port license application to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to own, construct, and operate a deepwater port used for the export of domestically sourced crude oil. The port would be located approximately 12.7 nautical miles off the coast of North Padre Island in Kleberg County in approximately 93 feet of water—more than deep enough to accommodate very large crude carriers (VLCCs).

The overall project would consist of a single-point mooring buoy system (monobuoy); 14.71 statute miles of two new 30-inch diameter offshore pipelines from North Padre Island in Kleberg County; and 12.01 statute miles of two new 30-inch diameter inshore and onshore pipelines located in Nueces and Kleberg Counties. A booster station would be located in Kleberg County and a 600,000 barrel per day 150-acre onshore storage terminal facility would be located in Nueces County. The application, notices, supporting materials, and comments may be viewed at the Federal Docket Management Facility web site: http://www.regulations.gov under docket number MARAD-2018-0114. All of the relevant documents are linked from the bottom of this web page along with maps and engineering diagrams. 

The TGTI web site provides a good overview of the project as does their briefing document.

While we support the Port of Corpus Christi Authority’s (PCCA) efforts to bring more jobs and revenue to the area the Port Aransas Conservancy is strongly opposed to the disaster their proposal for an onshore VLCC port at Harbor Island would entail for the ecology of the area and the economy of Port Aransas.  We support a far less environmentally destructive alternative: an offshore oil port.

We urge the Port to abandon its plans for their Harbor Island inshore project and consider either developing its own offshore terminal proposal or supporting one of the private proposals currently in development. It’s the right thing to do for the bay, for Port A, for the region, and for industry.