Moda completes Corpus Christi crude storage project

Houston — Moda Midstream said Tuesday it completed its 10 million barrel crude storage expansion by the Port of Corpus Christi that began last year and the company will add another 3.5 million barrels of storage by the end of this year.

The additional expansion comes as the global coronavirus pandemic is triggering a storage crunch in the US and across the world as global crude demand has plunged by roughly 30%.

Corpus Christi emerged late last year as the nation's top crude-exporting hub so a bevy of storage construction projects were already underway. Now, as producers look to move their crude into longer-term storage options, Moda is building more storage. In about two years, Moda will expand its Corpus-area crude storage from 2.5 million barrels to 15.5 million barrels.

"At a time when there is a pressing need for additional crude oil storage, the early delivery of the tanks is another example of Moda's ability to consistently provide solutions to our customers," said Moda CEO Bo McCall in a statement. "Bringing 10 million barrels of storage online in just over a year and a half is a major accomplishment."

The storage project was split between the Moda Ingleside Energy Center and the Moda Taft Terminal - both of which are in the Corpus area.

In addition to the 3.5 million barrels of crude storage Moda will add later this year, the company said it also is discussing more storage expansions with customers.

Recently, the Gray Oak Pipeline and the EPIC Crude Oil Pipeline commenced full service to carry crude oil from the Permian Basin to Corpus.

In an interview last week, Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge said the port was in a "little bit of an enviable position" compared to other storage hubs because so much new storage space was already under construction.

Crude storage in the Gulf Coast is close to 60% full, compared with the benchmark Cushing hub that's closer to 80% full. However, even the Gulf Coast is expected to start feeling the storage crunch at least by late May.