The U.S. federal government has approved a project for the construction of a deepwater oil terminal on the Texas coast, to be led by Sentinel Midstream.
The Texas GulfLink facility would have an export capacity of 1 million barrels of crude daily. The approval is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to boost the United States’ energy dominance through oil and gas exports.
“The Texas GulfLink project is proof that when we slash unnecessary red tape and unleash our fossil fuel sector, we create jobs at home and stability abroad,” Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement to Reuters. “This critical deepwater port will allow the U.S. to export our abundant resources faster than ever before.”
The idea of a second deepwater oil port – in addition to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port – has been around for years. With surging oil production and growing exports, the U.S. could certainly do with two outlets capable of loading a supertanker directly.
Several years ago, there were a handful of projects for new offshore oil ports under consideration but progress stalled due to the slowdown in U.S. oil production growth during the pandemic years, and then the redirection of U.S. oil flows from Asia to Europe as Russian flows diverted from the West to the East, harming the business case for new offshore oil terminals.
Now, it seems the business case has improved. According to the U.S. Transport Secretary, the new port will also alleviate port congestion in the region and make the loading of crude oil for export more efficient, cheaper, and faster.
U.S. crude oil exports have surged, thanks to the shale industry, from just over 100,000 barrels daily back in 2013 to over 4.4 million barrels daily as of late 2025, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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