Dive Brief:

• The Port of Corpus Christi (Texas) and the Carlyle Group announced this week that they plan to build a crude oil export terminal on the 256-acre Harbor Island in the northeast of Corpus Christi Bay and within the city limits of Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, Texas. The project, according to some reports, is valued at up to $1.2 billion.
• The terminal would be the first such onshore facility in the U.S. with the ability to accommodate fully loaded very large crude oil carriers and is expected to give Texas crude oil producers better access to the global market, which could help reduce the national trade deficit by up to $50 billion a year. Carlyle will lead construction as well as operations and will also arrange private financing for the necessary dredging in order to reach 75 feet of main channel depth. The project also includes the development of two loading docks as well as crude oil tank storage on a nearby piece of property owned by Carlyle.
• The deal is still subject to the negotiation of final details, due diligence and Carlyle investment committee approval. Port proceeds from the deal will help fund the project and Carlyle’s Global Infrastructure Fund will contribute the company’s equity share. Construction and operations are expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs along with billions of dollars in economic activity. 

Dive Insight:

The Gulf Coast of the U.S. is a hub of energy-related construction activity for both the oil and natural gas industries as well as related businesses like petrochemical production, with billions being poured into the building and expansion of export and processing facilities.

In April, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that Taiwanese company Formosa Petrochemical Corp. planned to build a $9.4 billion manufacturing plant between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The company will build a single-site facility that will produce ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol and other polymers. At its busiest, the 10-year, two-phase project is expected to employ 8,000 construction workers.

Canada is also a hotspot for energy projects. Earlier this month, Fluor Corp. announced that it had been selected to build a $14 billion liquefied natural gas export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, for LNG Canada. Fluor will take on the project with Japanese joint venture partner JGC Corp. and the two will supply the engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction services necessary to build two independent liquefaction units, or trains.