More than 200 U.S. Terminals Prep for Second-Quarter Maintenance

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--With the U.S. poised to produce more oil in the near term, and with the petrochemical market booming, the U.S. Terminals Industry could be looking at a sharp increase in capacity demand in the coming years. Existing facilities will need to keep their units in the best possible shape to accommodate however many volumes they will need to hold until the industry sees a significant buildout. Industrial Info is tracking more than 200 maintenance-related projects at terminals across the U.S. that are set to kick off in the second quarter, more than 90% of which is attributed to petroleum-related storage.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) accounts for more per-project maintenance spending than any other storage-facility owner in the U.S. Terminals Industry, with $34 million spread across four inspection, upgrade and repair programs set to begin in April: at the Bryan Mound facility in Freeport, Texas, which has a capacity of 254 million barrels; the West Hackberry facility in Hackberry, Louisiana, which has a capacity of 228 million barrels; the Big Hill facility in Winnie, Texas, which has a capacity of 171 million barrels; and the Bayou Choctaw facility in Plaquemine, Louisiana, which has a capacity of 74 million barrels. Each program is expected to wrap up in the fourth quarter.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Terminals Project and Plant databases can read detailed reports on the Bryan Mound, West Hackberry, Big Hill and Bayou Choctaw projects, and read detailed plant profiles for the Bryan Mound, West Hackberry, Big Hill and Bayou Choctaw facilities.

The SPR has become a political flashpoint in recent months, after the Biden administration sold off more than 40% of the stockpile over the course of 2023, in an effort to stem rising fuel prices. The reserve still held 351 million barrels at the beginning of the fourth quarter, according to the DOE, which still makes it the largest strategic reserve in the world--even if that number is at its lowest in nearly 40 years.

The federal government began to ramp up its oil purchases toward the end of 2023, with about 6 million barrels returned to the SPR in November, followed by 3 million barrels in December and 3.2 million barrels in January. But the U.S. Congress is poised to take a tougher stance on who can be a customer for any future sales: A measure in the upcoming, must-pass bill to fund the U.S. government would block China from buying SPR oil. This follows the U.S. Senate's 85-to-14 passage of a bill last July that would have banned SPR sales to China; the bill was not taken up by the U.S. House.

Private companies across the U.S. were storing 424 million barrels as of early fourth-quarter 2023, according to the DOE, and some of the biggest names are preparing for maintenance kickoffs from April through June. Buckeye Partners LP (Houston, Texas), a subsidiary of IFM Investors Pty Limited (Melbourne, Australia), accounts for more projects and more total spending than any other company, with $42 million spread across 31 projects. More than one-third of the investment is attributed to terminals in New York and New Jersey.

Buckeye's maintenance programs, most of which are expected to run through the end of the year, include routine inspections and repairs to three tanks, totaling 47,000 barrels, at its 460,000-barrel petroleum products terminal in Vestal, New York, and repairs to two tanks at its 5 million-barrel refined products terminal in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Vestal and Perth Amboy programs.

Kinder Morgan Incorporated (NYSE:KMI) (Houston, Texas) trails only Buckeye in its number of, and investment in, second-quarter terminal-maintenance projects, with 23 valued at $36 million. About 25% of the investment is attributed to projects in California, where its 639,271-barrel petrochemicals terminal in Richmond, just northeast of San Francisco, and its 680,000-barrel Mission Valley Refined Products Terminal in San Diego, are set to perform regular inspections and repairs to a handful of tanks. Both programs are expected to run through December. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Richmond and San Diego programs.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for maintenance-related projects at terminals across the U.S. that are set to kick off in the second quarter.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).