据管道新闻网8月12日消息称，美国能源运输公司周四表示，正与潜在的承运商讨论在德州建立一个能够处理超级油轮的出口设施。超级油轮可运输约200万桶原油。

该公司首席财务官Thomas Long在公司季度财报电话会议上表示，该设施将与其位于德克萨斯州Nederland的原油码头相连，目前尚未做出最终投资决定。

在美国政府于2015年底解除禁令后，随着出口飙升至创纪录水平，中游企业竞相在美国墨西哥湾沿岸增设能够处理超大型原油运输船的出口码头。

上周公布的数据显示，美国6月原油日产量跳升至创纪录的316万桶，因韩国原油购买量创下纪录，中国原油购买量增加。页岩热潮帮助美国超过沙特阿拉伯和俄罗斯，成为世界上最大的石油生产国。

能源运输公司表示，预计至少需要两到三年才能开始建设VLCC项目。

该公司还表示，第二季度原油运输量升至创纪录的470万桶/天，高于去年的约420万桶/天，这主要得益于通过其现有的德克萨斯输油管道运输的原油增加，以及巴肯系统的产量增长。

上个月，该公司宣布达科塔输油管道系统进入了一个开放季，要求承运商做出更多承诺，以扩大产能。Long周四表示，根据客户需求，能源运输公司将能够随着时间的推移将该系统的产能从目前的57万桶/天扩大至110万桶/天。

Long说：“我们几乎完成了二叠纪快速运输管道的扩建。PE4项目的扩建将为我们从科罗拉多市到德克萨斯州内德兰的二叠纪快速运输管道系统增加12万桶/天的产能。”

该项目的全部预计将在第三季度末投入使用。

曹海斌 摘译自 管道新闻网

原文如下：

Energy Transfer in Talks to Build U.S. Gulf Coast Supertanker Crude Export Facility

Energy Transfer LP said on Thursday it was in discussions with potential shippers to build an export facility in Texas capable of handling supertankers, which can transport about 2 million barrels of crude.

The facility would be connected to its Nederland, Texas, crude terminal and a final investment decision has not yet been made, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Long said during a quarterly earnings call for the company.

Midstream companies have raced to add export terminals capable of handling Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) along the U.S. Gulf Coast as exports have surged to records after Washington lifted a ban in late 2015.

U.S. crude exports jumped to a monthly record of 3.16 million barrels per day (bpd) in June as South Korea bought record volumes and China ramped up purchases, data showed last week. A shale boom has helped the United States become the world's biggest oil producer, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Energy Transfer said it expects to take at least two or three years to begin construction on the VLCC project.

The company also said crude transportation volumes rose to a record 4.7 million bpd in the second quarter compared with about 4.2 million bpd last year, thanks to an increase in barrels shipped through its existing Texas pipelines and volume growth in its Bakken system.

Last month, the company announced an open season for the Dakota Access pipeline system, soliciting additional shipper commitments in order to expand capacity. Energy Transfer will be capable of expanding that system's capacity up to 1.1 million bpd over time based upon customer demand, from the 570,000 bpd currently, Long said on Thursday.

"We're almost complete with an expansion of our Permian Express System. The PE4 expansion will add an additional 120,000 bpd of capacity to our Permian Express pipeline system from Colorado City to Nederland, Texas," Long said.

The full capacity of the project is expected to be in service by the end of the third quarter.