EPA Clears Path for Texas Deepwater Port, Fueling Controversy Over U.S. Oil Exports on Supertankers

(Bloomberg) —

The Environmental Protection Agency has given its blessing for a proposed Texas oil port capable of exporting 1 million barrels of oil a day, even as the terminals face increasing scrutiny from environmental activists, progressive lawmakers and local officials.

In a letter from the EPA made public by opponents of the project Thursday, the agency said it “does not object to the issuance of a license” for Sentinel Midstream LLC’s Texas Gulflink Deepwater Port. The company, which is backed by private equity firm Cresta Fund Management, still needs final approval via a record of decision from the Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration. The decision is expected by December 12. 

The project, proposed off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas, would allow oversized oil tankers known as very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, to load as much as 85,000 barrels of crude oil an hour. The Biden administration in April signed off on a similar nearby export facility by Enterprise Products Partners with the capacity to export 2 million barrels of oil a day and applications for two other deepwater oil export terminals are pending. The approvals come as large vessels are increasingly being used on shorter routes and as massive growth in US oil exports is expected by the end of the decade.

The facilities have drawn fire from progressive Democratic lawmakers, local officials and climate activists who have been pressuring President Joe Biden to halt the projects arguing they contradict his administration’s commitment to environmental justice and fighting climate change.

GulfLink alone would be responsible for more than 100 million tons of upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions per year, according to Earthworks, an environmental group opposed to the project. Sentinel Midstream didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The EPA, in its letter dated October 25, said the agency “recommends continued emphasis on ensuring environmental justice and climate change considerations be included in the licensing project for the protection of overburdened communities.”

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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