Biden administration backs approval of Texas oil port

The Environmental Protection Agency has given its blessing to a proposed Texas oil port capable of exporting 1 million barrels of oil a day, even as the terminals face increasing scrutiny from environmental activists, a progressive lawmakers and local officials.

In an EPA letter made public Thursday by project opponents, the agency said it “does not oppose the issuance of a license” for Texas Sentinel Midstream LLC’s Gulflink deepwater port. The company, which is backed by private equity firm Cresta Fund Management, still needs final approval through a memorandum of decision from the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. The decision is expected by December 12.

The project, proposed off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas, would allow oversized oil tankers known as very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, to load up to 85,000 barrels of crude oil per hour. The Biden administration in April signed off on a similar export facility nearby by Enterprise Products Partners with the capacity to export 2 million barrels of oil per day, and applications for two other deep-sea oil export terminals are pending. The approvals come as large ships are increasingly used on shorter routes and as a massive increase in US oil exports is expected by the end of the decade.

The facilities have drawn fire from progressive Democratic lawmakers, local officials and climate change activists, who have pressured President Joe Biden to halt the projects, arguing they contradict his administration’s commitment to environmental justice and combating climate change.

GulfLink alone would be responsible for more than 100 million tons of upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions per year, according to Earthworks, an environmental group that opposes the project. Sentinel Midstream did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The EPA, in its Oct. 25 letter, said the agency “recommends continued emphasis on ensuring environmental justice and climate change considerations be included in the licensing design for the protection of overburdened communities.”