Open
season for BOOTS deepwater port and terminal system
Posted: 14 June 2003
Unocal Midstream & Trade (UMT), a division of Unocal Corporation,
recently announced the initiation of an open season offering crude
oil port and pipeline transportation services from its proposed
Bulk Oil Offshore Transfer System (BOOTS) facility in the Gulf of
Mexico.
BOOTS would be a state of the art Gulf of Mexico deepwater port
located 100 miles south of Beaumont, Texas capable of offloading
tankers with capacity of up to 2 million barrels at rates up to
1.2 million barrels per day.
BOOTS would also be capable of receiving vessels transporting crude
oil from domestic Gulf of Mexico deepwater production fields.
BOOTS will deliver crude oil via new pipelines to existing refineries
on the Texas Gulf Coast and will have access to other inland refineries
via existing pipeline and terminal facilities.
UMT is conducting an open season for the next 24 days to offer
the remaining 700,000 barrels per day of firm BOOTS pipeline capacity
to interested parties.
The open season process allows interested parties to review the
rates, terms and conditions for port and transportation services
offered by the BOOTS facility and provides a means to make a commitment
of crude volume for these services.
“This open season will help us supplement existing commitments
from refiners in support of this efficient, reliable and safe system
of crude delivery,” said Joseph Blount, president of Unocal
Midstream & Trade. “When we have the additional commitments,
we can proceed with the deepwater port permit application process.”
UMT markets, processes, stores and transports oil and natural gas
produced by Unocal and other producers.
”A new deepwater port and related pipelines will provide
a more efficient crude oil offloading facility that would result
in reduced handling requirements, port calls and transit times,
thus reducing costs and risks associated with the movement of crude
to Gulf Coast refineries,” added Blount.
The BOOTS facility, as proposed, will consist of a pumping platform;
two single-point moorings (SPMs); a 100-mile-long, 48/42-inch-diameter
pipeline to Unocal’s Beaumont Terminal, which has 7.5 million
barrels of crude oil and product storage capacity and existing connections
to major existing pipeline systems into and out of the Texas Gulf
Coast area; and a 50-mile-long, 42-inch-diameter pipeline to a proximate
location in Texas City, Texas.
The system could be in operation by the beginning of 2007 assuming
sufficient commitments are obtained and the necessary permits are
granted. BOOTS, LLC intends to seek project financing opportunities
to offset most of the proposed project capital costs, which total
approximately $500 million.
About Unocal Midstream & Trade Unocal
Midstream & Trade manages Unocal’s pipeline, terminal,
and storage assets; including interests in more than 8,000 miles
of crude oil, natural gas and product pipelines, 12 million barrels
of crude oil and products storage, and 91 billion cubic feet of
natural gas storage.
About Unocal Corporation
Unocal is one of the world's leading independent natural gas and
crude oil exploration and production companies. The company's principal
oil and gas activities are in North America and Asia.
For more information see www.unocal.com
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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