The Maritime Administration has approved a deepwater port license application for Blue Marlin Offshore Port, LLC planned for about 99 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
“Building this port will unleash domestic production, create more than 1,000 good-paying construction jobs along the Gulf of America, and open vital supply lines to global markets that will solidify our nation as the world’s largest energy exporter,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said Friday in announcing the license.
The estimated $1 billion project is expected to support up to 1,052 construction jobs, enable export of up to 2 million barrels of crude oil daily and increase the nation’s port capacity to accommodate Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs).
Th Blue Marlin project will use existing and converted platform infrastructure in the Gulf’s West Cameron Block 509, affording deep-water loading and easing inland port congestion and the risks of vessel collision and safety risks, according to Marad.
Crude oil supply for the port will be sourced from a dedicated pipeline system connecting major inland supply hubs in Texas (including the Nederland Terminal area) and Southwest Louisiana to the offshore platform network.
The project will convert existing Gulf infrastructure for use as to provide more than half of its assets, “such as the 36″ pipeline from Cameron Parish, Louisiana to the loading platform in the Gulf of Mexico,” according to a company summary. “The repurposing of these assets will significantly reduce our environmental footprint by limiting the amount of new construction required for the project.”
