January 2020, Vol. 247, No. 1
Global News
EPIC Midstream Loads First Oil Tanker at New Texas Export Terminal
EPIC Midstream loaded its first oil tanker at its new Texas export terminal and plans to open another dock in the third quarter of 2020, benefiting from rising demand for low-sulfur U.S. crude, EPIC President Brian Freed said in a mid-December interview with Reuters.
Its Corpus Christi, Texas, facility has capacity to load Aframax tankers, which can carry up to 750,000 barrels of oil, at a rate of 20,000 barrels per hour, boosting export capabilities as refiners in Europe and Asia look for more light sweet crude supply ahead of new maritime fuel standards.
The facility planned for next year would double the company’s total loading rate to 40,000 barrels per hour and could handle larger Suezmax tankers, which can hold about 1 million barrels, Freed said.
San Antonio-based EPIC is one of three pipeline operators that have opened major lines this year to bring barrels from the top U.S. oil field to the Gulf Coast, and one of several companies to launch export projects as the shale boom has helped make the nation the world’s largest crude producer and a major exporter.
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