In response to increased demand for crude transportation from South Texas and the Permian Basin, Harvest Pipeline Company (an affiliate of Hilcorp Energy Company) and Vitol Inc have established an agreement to explore joint development of a state of the art crude oil terminal to be located in the Port of Corpus Christi. Texas.
“The agreement between Harvest Pipeline Company and Vitol is an extraordinary opportunity to help satisfy the growing need for export capacity along the Texas Gulf Coast,” said Sean Kolassa, president Harvest Pipeline Company. “We are excited for the project to begin moving forward.”
This project will complement Harvest’s existing South Texas business by providing Eagle Ford crude oil a new terminal connection from the Harvest Midway junction. In addition, this project will provide a new waterborne outlet for the growing number of Permian crude oil that are seeking access to international markets. As more barrels flow to Corpus Christi from the Permian Basin, additional storage will be developed at the emerging Midway hub.
“Crude demand, particularly in emerging markets, continues to grow and US shale has an important role to play in satisfying this demand,” said Mark Couling head of Crude Oil for Vitol. “Our new pipeline and terminal will facilitate the efficient delivery of US crude to global markets, thereby increasing marketing opportunities and optimizing value for US producers,”
The parties have reached agreement with the Port of Corpus Christi for the location of the terminal development and dock access. In addition, the parties are reviewing the option of constructing a private dock for the parties’ sole use at the oil terminal facility. Barrels will have access to the terminal via a new 16-inch lateral pipeline.
Harvest Pipeline Company is a privately held midstream service provider that operates various crude oil and natural gas gathering, storage, transportation, treatment, and terminaling assets on behalf of its affiliates across the United States.
Vitol is an energy and commodities company. Its primary business is the trading and distribution of energy products globally. It trades over seven million barrels per day of crude oil and products and, at any time, has 250 ships transporting its cargoes.