Energy Transfer in talks to build U.S. Gulf Coast Supertanker Crude Export Facility

Energy Transfer LP said on Thursday it was in discussions to build an export facility in Texas capable of handling supertankers with the capacity to transport about 2 million barrels of crude.

The facility would be connected to its Nederland, Texas, crude terminal, and a final investment decision has not yet been made, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Long said during a quarterly earnings call for the company.

It was not immediately clear who Energy Transfer was in discussions with.

U.S. midstream companies have raced to add export terminals capable of handling Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) along the Gulf Coast as exports have surged to records after Washington lifted a ban in late 2015.

Energy Transfer said it expects to take at least 2 or 3 years to bring the VLCC project into service. 

(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)