Enterprise Products Partners LP, Houston, (NYSE: EPD) Teppco Partners LP (NYSE: TPP) and Oiltanking Holding Americas Inc. have lifted the curtain on a proposed $2-billion floating oil terminal that would be about 36 miles offshore Freeport, Texas. Pending the necessary approvals, the project could be online by 2010.
            

The Texas Offshore Port System (TOPS) project would include an offshore port, two onshore storage facilities with approximately 5.1 million barrels of total crude oil storage capacity, and an associated 160-mile pipeline system with the capacity to deliver up to 1.8 million barrels per day of oil. System capacity could be expanded with construction of additional offshore facilities.
            

Development of the offshore port system and onshore infrastructure is supported by long-term contracts with Motiva Enterprises LLC and an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corp., which together have committed a total volume of approximately 725,000 barrels per day.
            

The three companies report that demand for TOPS is being driven by planned and expected refinery expansions along the upper Texas Gulf Coast that are anticipated to add approximately 425,000 barrels per day of capacity starting in 2010, as well as expected increases in general ship traffic at onshore ports.
            

Given the forecasted increased shipping traffic resulting from incoming crude oil supplies and operating limitations of ship channels, TOPS would offer refiners another delivery option that would provide added flexibility and enhanced reliability, the companies report. TOPS is designed to allow operations 24 hours per day without restrictions on movements and vessel size that limit most ship channels.
            

TOPS would be able to accommodate the largest vessels which can carry approximately 3 million barrels of crude oil. The location of TOPS is also designed to avoid delays and risks related to fog, navigation hazards and channel closures on coastal waterways. Over the next several years, key port locations along the Texas Gulf Coast are expected to see a sharp increase in total traffic for all types of cargo, and TOPS would be well-positioned to play an important role in relieving potential congestion.
            

As designed, the deepwater port will feature two single-point mooring buoys that will essentially serve as floating docks for the vessels. Located in about 115 feet of water, the buoys will be able to offload crude oil at rates up to 100,000 barrels per hour.
            

A subsea pipeline will connect the buoys to the onshore distribution system near Freeport. The TOPS pipeline system would run from the offshore port shore crossing to Freeport and extend along the Texas Gulf Coast to Texas City, Texas, connecting to a 3.9 million barrel crude oil storage facility. From there, the pipeline would connect to existing crude oil pipeline systems currently serving the Texas City and Houston Ship Channel refineries. JAS