Sentinel Midstream to Decide on Deepwater Oil Export Project Investment
Sentinel Midstream, an oil transportation and storage company, plans to finalize its investment decision for a major deepwater oil export project off the Texas coast once it secures a license from the U.S. government.
The move aligns with President Donald Trump's efforts to expedite approvals for projects that support the U.S. energy industry, including fossil fuel production.
Sentinel's Texas GulfLink project received a record of decision from the Trump administration on Friday, a significant step in the permitting process. The approval includes conditions, and Sentinel must meet state, federal, and other requirements to obtain a construction license.
Located approximately 30.5 miles off Freeport, Texas, the offshore project aims to fully load a supertanker with 2 million barrels of oil per day. Currently, only the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port can accommodate fully loaded supertankers. Other facilities partially load them due to depth restrictions, necessitating the use of smaller vessels to complete the transfer.
Sentinel CEO Jeff Ballard expects the company's investment decision to align with the license's approval, but declined to provide a specific timeline.
Under former President Joe Biden's administration, the previous U.S. deepwater project, Enterprise Products Partners' Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT), took approximately 17 months from record of decision to license.
Ballard emphasized that the conditions in the record of decision are clear, without unexpected requirements.
Despite concerns about slowing oil export volumes, Ballard remains optimistic about production growth. He anticipates that the new administration's focus on American energy dominance will benefit Sentinel.
Additionally, he expects U.S. crude oil flows to shift towards Asia as the administration seeks to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Increased Asian demand could boost the utilization of supertankers, the target market for Texas GulfLink.