Howard Energy Partners (HEP) on June 13 announced that it has completed the expansions of its bulk liquid terminal facilities in Port Arthur and Corpus Christi, Texas.

 The completion of these projects increases HEP’s Gulf Coast terminal storage capacity to 2.6 million barrels (MMbbl) with three ship docks, three barge docks, unit train loading capacity for up to two trains per day, and direct pipeline connectivity through wholly-owned pipelines to seven refineries. HEP began operating terminal facilities in mid-2014.

“The substantial expansions at our Port Arthur and Corpus Christi facilities signify HEP’s commitment to designing and constructing fully-engineered facilities that are tailored to meet the exact needs of our customers,” said HEP Co-Founder and President Brad Bynum. “We currently have more than 470 acres for additional Gulf Coast expansion projects, including significant water frontage. We will continue to work closely with our customers to understand their needs and evaluate growth projects that create beneficial results for all participants within the supply chain.”

Port Arthur

The Port Arthur facility expansion consisted of 12 new tanks, four butane bullets, two barge docks, one ship dock and a 6.5-mile, bidirectional pipeline. With the completion of these additional assets, HEP is able to blend gasoline with up to six separate components at delivery rates of up to 40,000 barrels per (bbl/h) hour, to meet specific regional and international quality specifications. This allows customers to optimize the value of the molecules specific to each market.

The expanded Port Arthur facility now consists of:

  • 16 tanks with 1.35 MMbbl of storage capacity
  • Four butane bullets, with a total capacity of 360,000 gallons
  • 8.8 miles of rail track with the capacity to load one unit train per day consisting of up to 94 cars, and the track capability to handle up to five unit trains simultaneously within the facility
  • Three barge docks, all with vapor control capability
  • One ship dock, capable of loading ships at rates of up to 40,000 bbl/h, allowing for the loading of one 500,000- to 750,000-bbl ship every other day
  • One bidirectional pipeline
  • Permitting and engineering for a second ship dock is nearing completion

HEP acquired a majority interest in the Port Arthur facility in 2015. Strategically located on approximately 450 acres of land on Taylor Basin and Taylor Bayou, the facility is 13 miles from the Gulf of Mexico via the Sabine Neches Waterway, with inland barge access to the terminal via the Intracoastal Waterway. In 2017, the company reconfigured the assets from a railcar-to-barge crude oil operation, to a barge-to-railcar refined products operation. The terminal can handle a variety of bulk liquids including refined motor fuels, crude oil, and condensate.

Corpus Christi

HEP recently contracted with an existing customer to load additional unit trains at their Corpus Christi bulk liquids terminal facility, bound for new destinations in Mexico. As part of the contract, HEP is acting as an agent to assist with oversight of the engineering, procurement and construction of a new receiving terminal in northern Mexico. Once completed later this year, the new receiving terminal will increase the utilization of HEP’s 65,000-bbl/d rail loading facility. HEP currently delivers approximately 35,000 bbl/d of refined petroleum products by unit train to locations in central Mexico, including the cities of San Jose Iturbide and Irapuato within the state of Guanajuato.

Strategically located on 41 acres within the Port of Corpus Christi, HEP’s terminal facility currently consists of six tanks with 480,000 bbl of storage capacity, an MR Class ship dock, a 12-inch pipeline with connectivity to six local refineries, and unit train loading facilities capable of loading one unit train per day. The terminal is expandable up to 2.5 MMbbl of total storage capacity and is currently permitted for immediate expansion up to 1.2 MMbbl. Additionally, HEP and the Port of Corpus Christi jointly funded the engineering and permitting of a new Suezmax class dock, which will be capable of the movement of refined products, crude oil, condensates, NGLs, and LPGs.

Onshore