First shipment of ethanol departs from Beaumont Terminal
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December 6, 2017
BY Tim Albrecht
JGP Energy Partners, a joint venture between Green Plains Inc. and Jefferson Energy Companies, loaded its first vessel with nearly 3 million gallons of ethanol destined for Brazil Dec. 4. JGP is currently loading its second shipment of 10 million gallons of ethanol on a vessel bound for India.
The terminal, located in Beaumont, Texas, is positioned in one of the largest refinery markets in the U.S., located in the center of the 9.2 million bbd Gulf Coast refining market (PAD III). The Port of Beaumont is the fourth busiest port in the U.S., according to the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers tonnage statistics, and the busiest military port in the U.S.
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“This state-of-the-art terminal aligns with our strategy to grow our downstream distribution capabilities and optimize our logistics platform,” said Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer of Green Plains. “We can now provide an end-to-end solution, from production to delivery, for our customers worldwide at one of the most efficient export loading facilities for ethanol that exists in the marketplace today. In addition, we can now service domestic demand because of our access to three Class I railroads, inbound/outbound barges and trucks, and better locational advantages due to fewer weather and incident-related delays than competing terminals.”
“We are excited to commence operations with our partner, one of the largest ethanol producers and traders in North America,” said Greg Binion, president and chief executive officer of Jefferson. “The joint venture created infrastructure at Jefferson Beaumont to distribute ethanol to worldwide markets. Green Plains Trade Group will be a customer of the terminal, which is designed to serve multiple ethanol export customers with differing specification requirements. The terminal’s multimodal capabilities and sustainable cost-advantaged logistics will contribute to the success of this joint venture.”
The newly constructed $50 million export and import fuels terminal can receive and unload two ethanol trains at high flow rates of 7,000 barrels per hour. The terminal can discharge up to 120 car unit trains of ethanol in under 24 hours. The facility is directly served via mainline access to Union Pacific, BNSF and KC railroads, allowing delivery from most origination terminals and plants in North America. Beaumont can quickly switch between various export grades and domestic specifications with four specifically designed storage tanks with a working capacity of 550,000 barrels.
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Other features of the terminal include, two truck loading bays that can throughput 20,000 barrels per day, a barge loading dock capable of loading 5,000 barrels per hour on inland and offshore barges, and a vessel dock capable of loading up to 10,000 barrels per hour on Aframax-size chemical tankers and medium range vessels.
“The completion of this project solidifies our position as a preferred supplier able to offer our customers product when they want it, where they want it, and how they want it as exports continue to grow over the next several years from the U.S.,” added Becker.
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