The Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, the site of an LNG export plant owned by Cheniere Energy and other oil and gas shipment facilities, said it was set to formally launch its Ship Channel Improvement project.
The Port authority said it planned a formal ceremony on May 29 attended by project partners.
The plans when completed will help turn Corpus Christi into one of the main US LNG and oil export hubs in the nation.
Strategically located on the western Gulf of Mexico with a 36-mile, 47 foot deep (Mean Lower Low Water) Channel, Corpus Christi is a growing gateway to international and domestic maritime commerce.
“The Ship Channel Improvement Project marks a significant milestone in the progress of the United States in becoming a net exporter of energy production,” said the Port authority.
The Cheniere Corpus Christi LNG plant exported its first cargo in December 2018 from the first Train with 4.5 million tonnes per annum of Capacity and will have 13.5 MTPA of exports when the two further Trains of the phase one development start commercial operations.
Cheniere is also developing up to seven mid-scale liquefaction Trains adjacent to the existing Corpus Christi project, each with an expected nominal production capacity of around 1.4 MTPA of LNG.
This would take total LNG shipments from the Port area to 23.3 MTPA.
However, the Corpus Christi LNG plant is located on the La Quinta Channel on the northeast side of Corpus Christi Bay, outwith the port itself and on a 1,000-acre site controlled by Cheniere.
“Following the 40-year ban on crude oil exports, the Port of Corpus Christi handled the first shipment of US crude oil abroad on December 31, 2015,” explained the Port.
“Its location on the Gulf of Mexico and proximity to the West Texas oil and gas boom has created a massive increase in demand and traffic for the Port of Corpus Christi,” it added.
Three years later, in 2018, Corpus Christi went from zero crude exports to exporting $10.8 billion worth of crude oil to US trading partners, contributing to the reduction of the US trade deficit.
As a leading US crude oil and LNG export centre, Corpus Christi noted that it was now ranked as the fourth-largest US port in terms of total tonnage.
The May 29 event will be attended by participants in the construction of the Ship Channel Improvement and its supporters, including R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army Civil Works and US Republican congressmen for Texas, Kevin Brady and Michael Cloud.
Other officials in attendance will be Sean Strawbridge, the Port’s Chief Executive and Charles Zahn, the Commission Chairman of the Port.
