Corpus Christi Bay News

Buckeye Partners announced the formation of a joint venture with Phillips 66 Partners and Andeavor to develop a new deep-water, open access marine terminal in Ingleside, Texas. The South Texas Gateway Terminal will be constructed on a 212 acre waterfront parcel at the mouth of Corpus Christi Bay. The facility is positioned to serve as the primary outlet for crude oil and condensate volumes delivered off of the planned Gray Oak pipeline from the Permian Basin. The terminal, to be constructed and operated by Buckeye, will offer 3.4 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity, connectivity to the Gray Oak pipeline and two deep-water vessel docks capable of berthing Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) petroleum tankers as part of the initial scope of construction.

A Coast Guard aircrew found the body of a 61-year-old fisherman Monday, after he was reported missing off Mustang Island earlier in the morning. The Corpus Christi Police Department notified Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders at 7:35 a.m. The police reported that the man's wife was waiting in the car when he went wade fishing Sunday at about 11 p.m. They reported that she attempted to contact him when he didn't return and she fell asleep waiting for him, calling the police when she awoke. A Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew was immediately launched and joined a Corpus Christi Police Department boat, two Nueces County Fire Department boats and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shore search.

U.S. dredging services provider Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced it was awarded a contract for work on an export terminal under the development of Corpus Christi Liquefaction, LLC (CCL). CCL, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc., is developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal at a site located on the north shore of Corpus Christi Bay in San Patricio and Nueces Counties, Texas. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation’s portion of the LNG project involves the dredging and slope protection of two LNG carrier ship berths, dredging of a material offloading and tug mooring basin and expansion of an existing La Quinta Channel turning basin.

US Department of Energy grants Pangea LNG Project permission to export LNG from its South Texas LNG Project, Corpus Christi Bay. The U.S. Department of Energy has granted Pangea long-term, multi-contract authorization to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to free trade agreement (FTA) nations. Pangea LNG will be authorized to export up to 8 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG produced from domestic gas fields for a 25-year term commencing on the date of its first export. That amount is equal to 1.09 Bcf/day of natural gas. Pangea LNG has also filed an application with DOE requesting authorization to export LNG to any country with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement in effect. That application, which was filed in December, is pending.

Two US Army Blackhawk helicopters created history recently with the first landings on board a US Army vessel since the Vietnam War. After a break of 30years, the Blackhawks touched down on the deck of US Army vessel HSV-X1 Joint Venture at 10.57 am (Korean time) on Thursday 25 March, 2004. HSV-X1 Joint Venture, built at the Hobart shipyard of Incat Australia, has been on lease to the US military since late 2001. The high speed ship completed a major refit at the Tasmanian Incat yard in late 2003 and is now stationed in Hawaii under the command of US Army Pacific.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an innovative new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and related facilities proposed by Ingleside Energy Center and San Patricio Pipeline to be located in San Patricio County, Texas. The Commission granted Ingleside Energy Center authority under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act to construct a new terminal designed to provide an option for extracting natural gas liquids in addition to importing, storing and vaporizing one billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas per day. The project would be constructed on the shoreline of Corpus Christi Bay near Ingleside, Texas, on a site owned by the applicants’ parent company, Occidental Chemical Corp. “I congratulate the Commission staff for processing this application so expeditiously.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is planning on the completion of its three-year feasibility study and has recommended a channel improvement plan to widen, deepen and extend Corpus Christi's current channel system. The $190 million dredging project is planned to have an estimated completion date of 2007 and would immediately improve ship and barge transportation, further preparing the Port of Corpus Christi for the future. The Port is the local sponsor of this federal planning process lead by the U.S. Army Corps. Underway is the second part of a two-phase planning process to determine the feasibility of the project and to develop an Environmental Impact Statement.