Carlyle Group will appeal to the Trump administration to guarantee a two-year approval of its South Texas crude export project. Carlyle-backed Lone Star Ports LLC aspires to open the first new US crude export facility that can accommodate supertankers.
The export facility would require dredging a South Texas ship channel deep enough to facilitate fully loaded supertankers to maneuver at its planned terminal.
The company will now file paperwork with the administration’s Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC), hoping to ease through federal, state and local reviews.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
As Reuters reports, Carlyle has decided on a final investment decision on a $400 million project to dredge a part of the Corpus Christi, Texas, ship channel to a depth of 75 feet to welcome supertankers that carry up to 2 million barrels of crude.
Namely, during March, the US Army Corps of Engineers, suggested a full environmental impact statement (EIS) for Carlyle’s project. An EIS typically can add two years, if not more, to the timeline of a project. The dredging project is possible to continue when it is added to the FPISC’s list of high-priority ventures.
What is more, Carlyle is negotiating with three companies to sell a 25% stake in the export project for $625 million. The company is also in talks to operate a crude oil pipeline from Houston to Corpus Christi. A deal could be agreed upon by May 24.
Carlyle’s Lone Star has already spent $250 million on its planned terminal, which is expected to start operations in October 2020.
