Enterprise Receives Deepwater Port License for Spot Project - Seite 2

SPOT reduces operational risks, including those associated with reverse lightering, an unregulated process in which crude oil is offloaded from multiple smaller ships onto a larger vessel in federal waters off the U.S. Gulf Coast. Limiting reverse lightering, combined with the SPOT platform’s state-of-the-art vapor combustion capabilities, would significantly reduce emissions.

“Compared with the current industry practice of reverse lightering, SPOT is expected to reduce crude vapor emissions by 95 percent, and lower total greenhouse gases by 65 percent,” said Teague. “Considering that as many as eight smaller vessels are required during the reverse lightering process, SPOT offers a safer alternative and reduces the potential for accidents and spills. At full capacity, SPOT would eliminate more than 900 ship-to-ship transfers in federal waters annually. The SPOT platform would also serve as a reef, supporting marine life.”

MARAD and U.S. Coast Guard led the comprehensive, four-year environmental review of this project. The reviews by more than a dozen federal governmental agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency, as well as reviews and approvals by the State of Texas. Highlighted below, are some of the notable findings from the record of decision, which SPOT received in November 2022:

• “The construction and operation of the Port is in the national interest because the Project will benefit employment, economic growth, and U.S. energy infrastructure resilience and security. The Port will provide a reliable source of crude oil to U.S. allies in the event of market disruption and have a minimal impact on the availability and cost of crude oil in the U.S. domestic market. Construction and operation of an offshore export terminal and the installation of a vapor combustion system at the DWP [deepwater port] will reduce the number of ship-to-ship transfers of crude oil and lessen emissions from conventional crude oil loading, thus providing a more efficient, less impactful crude oil transport facility within the offshore waters of the United States.”
• “The Project will be constructed and operated using the best available technology. Operating safety and control features of the Project will include autonomous shutdown valves, HIPPs, fire and gas detection, emergency shutdown and safety controls, and process control systems.”

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. Services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage and marine terminals; crude oil gathering, transportation, storage and marine terminals; petrochemical and refined products production, transportation, storage, and marine terminals and related services; and a marine transportation business that operates on key U.S. inland and intracoastal waterway systems. The partnership’s assets include more than 50,000 miles of pipelines; over 300 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. Please visit www.enterpriseproducts.com for more information.