The Port of Corpus Christi approved a 50-year lease agreement with Lone Star Ports, a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and the Berry Group, for about 200 acres on Harbor Island to develop a new petroleum export terminal. The facility will connect US crude producers with all major international markets.
The lease agreement between the Port of Corpus Christi Authority and Lone Star Ports will provide important value in the Port’s annual operating revenues, and the project is expected to create more high-wage jobs and more economic prosperity for Port Aransas, Nueces County, and throughout Texas.
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The facility on Harbor Island is planned to be the deepest-draft safe harbor crude export facility in the US once commissioned. Right after completion, the facility’s two docks will have access to the improved 56’ ship channel depth, making it the country’s first and only onshore terminal able of fully loading Suezmax vessels and nearly full loading Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs).
During February, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) awarded the first dredging contract for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (GLDD). This will deepen the channel to a depth of 56’ from the Channel entrance to Harbor Island, and has a planned depth of 54’ throughout the rest of the harbor.
Sean Strawbridge, Chief Executive Officer for the Port of Corpus Christi, stated on the occasion:
A 50-year lease agreement with the Carlyle Group and the Berry Group joint-venture company, Lone Star Ports, is not only complementary to our existing marine terminal infrastructure but also positions the Port of Corpus Christi to be the preferred outlet for US-produced crude exports serving all major global demand centers for generations to come
In addition, Ferris Hussein, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, noted that the Port of Corpus Christi Commission aspires to develop an environmentally safe, world-class facility that will position the port as a key economic engine in Texas and around the globe.
Civil works for this facility repurposing project are ongoing for the past year ahead of finalizing a definitive lease agreement, including the demolition of current dock structures from a previous decades old Exxon crude import terminal on Harbor Island. The execution of this new lease makes the parties able to begin major equipment and materials procurements and other construction efforts.
This project on Harbor Island is the next pivotal step in directing the growing crude oil production in the United States to global markets via our Port of Corpus Christi
said Charles W. Zahn, Jr., Port of Corpus Christi Commission Chairman.