With it’s close proxmity to deep water and existing pipeline infrastructure, the location allows Teppco to maximize the ability to serve as many customers as possible, Rainey said.

Most of the ships delivering to the Golden Triangle are from the Persian Gulf, West Africa, Venezuela and the Mexican Gulf, he said.

With a capacity of 100,000 barrels of crude an hour, or 1.8 million barrels per day, the facility will be able to handle about 18 percent of the total U.S.. crude imports.

“Based on the commitment from Motiva and Exxon, it is clearly a project that is needed whose time has come,” Rainey said. “We are not by any means saying ports are not necessary. If refiners are going to obtain the supplies they need they are going to need other options as well.

Rainey said construction of the floating port has no bearing on whether the U.S. should drill other of the nation’s coastal waters.

“The reality is, for the foreseeable future, the U.S.. will continue to need imports of crude oil to meet the demand,” Rainey said.

The Freeport terminal is similar to a similar project called the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which handles about 12 percent of the nation’s crude imports. LOOP has been around since 1981 and is tied by pipeline to about half the nation’s refining capacity, much of it along the Mississippi River from the New Orleans area to Baton Rouge, the AP reported.

Contact this reporter at skoonce@panews.com.