Moda Midstream Eyes LPG Exports from Corpus Christi

Significant sphere storage is already sited at the terminal, which Moda Midstream acquired from Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy; Houston) last year. The former Oxy Ingleside Energy Center is located near the mouth of the ship channel. In January the liquids terminaling and logistics provider said it had commissioned upgrades to enable loading of very large crude carriers.

Moda Midstream also said it had commissioned a further expansion of its docks, which originally were designed by the U.S. Navy to support a battleship and aircraft carrier group. As part of its expansion initiatives, the company has commenced construction of an additional 10 MMbbl of crude oil storage. Substantially all the new storage tanks will be placed into service throughout 2019 and the expansion will be complete by the second quarter of next year.

Further, the Chronicle reports Moda is making multimillion-dollar upgrades to use its twin-sphere LPG storage tanks to ship propane and butane to customers around the world. “A lot of customers that we’ve talked to would like to have an alternative area besides Mont Belvieu for LPG operations, Bo McCall, Moda Midstream CEO, told the newspaper.

Added is that Moda is in discussions with multiple companies to buy LPGs stored at Ingleside. The two above-ground spheres each have a 40,000- bbl capacity, but more storage is planned over the next two years since the company has room to expand. Further, San Antonio pipeline operator EPIC Midstream Holdings is constructing a line that is expected to begin moving petroleum gases from the Permian Basin to the Corpus Christi area in early 2020.

The Houston Chronicle outlines that EPIC Midstream operates a fractionator in Robstown, Texas, about 35 miles from Ingleside. McCall said purity products from the fractionator can easily be shipped to Moda Midstream’s Ingleside terminal for export. “With all the big new petrochemical plants that have been announced and being constructed in the Coastal Bend expected to consume a lot of ethane, the propanes, the butanes, and the heavier products will have to go to the water,” he said. “We’re trying to position ourselves for that.”

(SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, February 25, 2019)