A consortium including Australian investment bank Macquarie Group plans to build a 10-million-barrel oil storage terminal in Louisiana, at a cost of USD 600 million.
The group, led by closely held storage-tank developer Petroplex International LLC, plans to start construction in the first half of 2013 in St. James Parish, La., and begin operations in 2014. The facility will initially have storage capacity for between four and six million barrels. It is being designed to accommodate an array of liquids, including crude oil; refined petroleum products, such as fuel oil and diesel; chemicals; renewable fuels and bitumen, the thick crude that comes from Canada’s oil sands.
Situated between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the facility is planned for an area with several refineries that are expected to see an influx of crude from Canada’s oil sands and U.S. shale formations, which include North Dakota’s Bakken and Ohio’s Utica, and Texas fields. Those sources are producing more that nearby facilities can process.
The proposed Petroplex facility, which will be linked to long-haul pipelines, refineries, waterways and rail lines, will be able to store either crude ahead of processing or refined products awaiting distribution or export. Upon completion the facility will be the only independent “for-hire” storage terminal in the St. James market.
Aside from Petroplex and Macquarie, others involved in the project include energy infrastructure developer Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) and Harley Marine Service Inc. founder and Chief Executive Harley Franco, whose company will operate the facility’s barge docks.