Howard Energy Partners to expand Port Arthur terminal facility
San Antonio, Texas-based Howard Midstream Energy Partners, LLC, doing business as Howard Energy Partners, plans to expand its Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.A., terminal facilities to support Diamond Green Diesel’s 470-million-gallon-per-year renewable diesel production facility at Valero’s Port Arthur refinery.
Diamond Green Diesel a 50-50 joint venture between Valero Energy Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc.
Howard Energy Partners, an independent midstream energy company, owning and operating natural gas and crude oil gathering and transportation pipelines, natural gas processing plants, liquid storage terminals, deep-water dock and terminal facilities, rail, terminal and transloading facilities and other related midstream assets in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Mexico, has recently executed long-term agreements with Diamond Green Diesel.
Engineering, permitting, and construction at Howard Energy Partner’s Port Arthur facility expansion has begun, with an in-service date coinciding with the startup of Diamond Green Diesel’s new plant.
Howard Energy Partners will provide Diamond Green Diesel with logistic solutions for renewable diesel feedstock and finished product through the construction of 575,000 barrels of tank storage, three pipelines and associated connections to Valero’s Port Arthur refinery, seven miles of rail track and associated rail unloading/loading facilities, truck unloading facilities, and a Panamax-class-capable deep-water dock. The new facilities are being designed to handle multiple products and have an additional capacity for third-party shippers.
Once this expansion is complete, Howard Energy Partner’s Port Arthur facility will consist of 1.9 million barrels of refined product storage capacity, 16 miles of rail track with unit train and manifest service from two railroads, three barge docks, two ship docks, and pipeline connectivity to local refiners and major refined product distribution hubs.
“We are excited to work with both Valero and Darling to support their new renewable diesel production facility and help bring this sustainable, clean-burning fuel to market,” said Rod Pullen, vice president of Business Development and Asset Optimization for Howard Energy Partners.
“This significant expansion of our strategically located Port Arthur terminal illustrates the facility’s extensive footprint and capacity to grow and meet the needs of moving feedstock and refined products throughout the Gulf Coast market. We look forward to additional future development, continuing our commitment to building infrastructure projects that bring long-term and repeatable value to our investors.”
“Howard Energy Partners’ long-term contract with Diamond Green Diesel provides DGD with a competitive advantage in the production and distribution of renewable diesel around the world,” said John Bullock, executive vice president, chief strategy officer for Darling Ingredients. “We firmly believe the greater the flexibility of your supply chain, the better you can react to the changing dynamics, as the demand for renewable diesel continues to strengthen. We believe this agreement significantly enhances our raw material sourcing of feedstock as well as provides for better finished product marketing and distribution when the DGD Port Arthur facility commences production in the second half of 2023.”
