Enterprise Products Partners said on Tuesday it had received a deepwater port license for its Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) in the Gulf of Mexico from an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The project, located near Freeport, Texas, would become the biggest offshore oil export terminal in the U.S. after completion with a capacity to load two supertankers at a time and export 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.
"The receipt of the license is the most significant milestone to date in the development and commercialization of SPOT," said AJ Teague, co-chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner.
The company had earlier said it expects to get the license in the first quarter and start operations in 2027.
In January, environmental groups had sued U.S. to overturn the approval for the project, saying it would boost oil production and increase emissions.
(Reuters - Reporting by Sourasis Bose; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sriraj Kalluvila)