Houston-based company Max Midstream on Sept. 23 said it acquired the Seahawk pipeline and terminal project at the Port of Calhoun in Calhoun County, Texas, from Oaktree Capital and plans to connect the port directly to the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin.
Exports from the Seahawk terminal are slated to start upon the completion of the project's first phase later this year, while its second phase is anticipated to be completed by 2023. The company plans to invest up to $1 billion into the overall Seahawk project, which Max Midstream envisions as an alternative port to Houston or Corpus Christi, Texas, for the export of Permian and Eagle Ford crude oil.
Max Midstream said it has secured agreements for three pipeline interconnects with Kinder Morgan Inc.'s crude and condensate interconnect in Edna, Texas; the Gray Oak pipeline; and the Victoria Express pipeline. Max Midstream currently operates the Seahawk pipeline connecting Kinder Morgan's interconnect to the Seahawk terminal.
Future expansion will involve new pipeline connections with Gray Oak and Victoria Express to the Edna terminal, which can serve as another option for crude exports.
By November, Max Midstream expects to have 1.5 million barrels of storage at Edna, 600,000 barrels of storage at the Port of Calhoun and at the existing Seahawk pipeline and an export capacity of 4.2 million barrels per month. Upon the project's full completion, the company anticipates to have 9 million barrels of storage at Edna and 6 million barrels at the port.
"By developing the Seahawk Terminal at the Port, we will be able to offer a deepwater terminal with little congestion and the ability for producers to get their product to the Port at a very reasonable price," Max Midstream President Todd Edwards said.
Additionally, Max Midstream and the Calhoun Port Authority have reached an agreement, under which the company will invest $360 million to fund the deepening and widening of the port by 2023 to accommodate very large crude carriers, such as the Aframax and Suezmax ships.