EPA issues permit for deepwater port that will allow for 365M oil barrels loaded a year

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(The Center Square) – In the effort to advance American energy dominance, the EPA issued the “Clean Air Act permit” for an offshore deepwater port in Texas meant for crude oil export – with an energy advocate applauding the move.

EPA Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason told The Center Square: “This permit allows Texas GulfLink to load crude carriers with 85,000 oil barrels per hour, or 365 million barrels a year, while ensuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions are controlled.”

Texas GulfLink is the proposed offshore deepwater port, as stated in the EPA’s press release.

Mason explained to The Center Square that “to control the VOC emissions, a first-of-its-kind use of vapor capture and control technology will be mounted on an offshore support vessel at [Texas GulfLink’s] proposed deepwater port about 30 miles southeast of Freeport, Texas.”

Larry Behrens of Power the Future told The Center Square that “this permit is a critical step toward strengthening American energy dominance by expanding our ability to export crude oil through an innovative offshore port.”

Power the Future is a nonprofit dedicated to Americans working in reliable energy sources, according to its website.

Behrens told The Center Square: “By looking at ways to unleash more of our abundant resources to world markets, it boosts production and opens new opportunities for American workers and communities.”

“This project proves once again that the United States is leading the way in securing energy dominance and projecting strength on the global stage,” Behrens said.

The American Council on Renewable Energy, an organization dedicated to energy forms like wind and solar, has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Scott Mason told The Center Square that the EPA’s “permit approval is in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order 14154, which prioritizes unleashing energy dominance in America.”

“The oil industry and its hard-working employees help power our economy and increase American competitiveness with other oil-producing areas,” Mason said.

“Under the Clean Air Act, we can expand American energy production while protecting air quality,” Mason said.

Beyond this, Mason told The Center Square that “the project will also create jobs during the construction phase as well as for its ongoing operations.”

Chief executive officer of Sentinel Midstream Jeff Ballard said in an EPA news release that the group is “proud to unveil a groundbreaking vapor control application that will revolutionize the loading of Very Large Crude Carriers in the Gulf of America.”

“Developed by our Texas GulfLink team in close collaboration with the EPA, this innovative approach significantly reduces volatile organic compounds, setting a new industry standard for environmental performance and advances the implementation of Best Available Control Technology,” Ballard said.

According to an EPA news release, the Clean Air Act Permit “is valid for five years from the effective date of issuance, and [Texas GulfLink] will need to apply for a renewal at least six months before the date of expiration of the permit to continue operations at the deepwater port.”