The Moda Ingleside Energy Center (MIEC), located in Ingleside, Texas, is the biggest crude export terminal by volume in the US.

Moda Midstream, an independent liquids terminal and logistics solutions provider based in Texas, US, is the operator of the MIEC crude storage and export facility. EnCap Flatrock Midstream, a venture capital firm also based in Texas, is the financial sponsor of Moda Midstream.

With a crude storage capacity of 15.3 million barrels (Mbl) and an export capacity of 1.6 million barrels a day (Mbpd), MIEC serves as a major gateway for the oil production from the Permian and Eagle Ford basins to international markets.

The Ingleside export terminal has direct connectivity to four long-haul crude pipelines and can handle very large crude carriers (VLCC) offering a combined loading capacity of up to 160,000 barrels an hour, which is one of the fastest loading rates in the US Gulf Coast.

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The MIEC terminal accounted for more than a quarter of the total crude exports from the Gulf Coast of the US in 2020.

Acquisition of Moda Ingleside Energy Center (MIEC)

Enbridge, a multi-national pipeline company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, agreed to acquire the Moda Ingleside crude export terminal along with other assets from Moda Midstream and EnCap Flatrock Midstream for £2.17bn ($3bn) in September 2021. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.

As part of the transaction, Enbridge will also acquire Moda’s 350,000-barrel (bbl) Taft crude storage terminal located near MIEC, along with 20% interest in the 670,000 barrels a day (bpd) Cactus II Pipeline, and 100% interest in the 50km-long, 20in-diameter 300,000bpd Viola pipeline.

Further, the Canadian pipeline company will acquire 50% interest in Moda’s St. James Development Project, a brownfield initiative to develop deepwater storage and terminal infrastructure for crude and refined products near St. James, Louisiana, US.

Enbridge will rename MIEC as the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) following the acquisition. The company also plans to build a solar power station at the terminal site as part of its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Moda Ingleside crude export terminal location and site details

The Ingleside crude storage and export terminal is located in San Patricio County, Ingleside, Texas, US. It spans 925 acres in the US Gulf Coast, near the mouth of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel.

The terminal is connected to crude oil pipelines including the 300,000bpd Cactus I, 670,000bpd Cactus II, 1Mbpd Gray Oak, 400,000bpd EPIC, and the 600,000bpd Harvest Arrowhead Ingleside pipelines. The Cactus I pipeline is connected to MIEC through the Viola pipeline.

MIEC crude storage and loading capacities

MIEC houses seven 350,000bbl storage tanks and 26 tanks of 495,000bbl capacity each, providing a total crude oil storage capacity of more than 15.3Mbl.

MIEC has 925,000bpd of long-term take-or-pay vessel loading contracts and 15.3Mbl of long-term storage contracts. It also has permits to further expand the storage capacity to 20.8Mbl and the export capacity from 1.6Mbpd to 1.9Mbpd.

MIEC loaded approximately 264Mbl of crude oil in 2020 compared to 125Mbl in 2019.

Infrastructure facilities at Moda Ingleside crude export terminal

The marine infrastructure of the MIEC crude oil terminal comprises three deepwater vessel berths capable of accommodating one VLCC, one Suezmax, and one Aframax.

Other infrastructure at the Ingleside crude storage and export facility includes three 80,000bbl clean marine fuel storage tanks and two 40,000bbl liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage spheres with refrigeration equipment.

Moda Ingleside oil terminal development background

Occidental Petroleum acquired 917 acres of the former US Naval Station Ingleside site from Port Corpus Christi in November 2012 and later developed it into an oil export facility.

Moda Midstream acquired the terminal from Occidental Petroleum in September 2018. At the time of acquisition, the Ingleside terminal had a 2.1Mbl storage capacity along with three loading berths. Moda has since then developed more than 13Mbl of additional storage capacity at the site.

Corpus Christi Ship Channel improvement project details

The Corpus Christi Ship Channel (CCSC) improvement project is being executed in four phases to increase the channel depth from 47ft below mean lower low water (MLLW) to 54ft below MLLW and expand the channel width to 530ft with an additional 400ft of barge shelves.

In phase one, the CCSC was deepened and widened from the Gulf of Mexico to Harbor Island by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company in March 2020. It was followed by the award of a dredging contract worth £79.2m ($97.9m) for phase two of the CCSC improvement project to Callan Marine by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in April 2020.

Phase two, which is anticipated to be completed in the second half of 2022, will involve the widening and deepening of the channel from Harbor Island to 3km past the LA Quinta Junction. The Moda Ingleside oil terminal as well as the other oil terminals operated by Buckeye Partners and Flint Hills Resources in Ingleside will directly benefit from the phase two expansion of the CCSC.