Enbridge, Enterprise to Develop GoM Crude Export Terminal

Enbridge Inc and Enterprise Products Partners LP on Monday signed an agreement to jointly develop a deepwater offshore crude oil export terminal in the Gulf of Mexico capable of loading Very Large Crude Carriers.

Both pipeline operators will work to finalize an equity participation agreement that would provide Enbridge an option to purchase ownership interest in Enterprise's Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT), subject to SPOT receiving a deep-water port license, Enbridge said in a statement.

The companies would first jointly develop the SPOT project, and depending on how the export market grows, would utilize Enbridge's Texas COLT deep-water port or a similar project.

"Enbridge and Enterprise Products are partners in the Seaway Pipeline system. It makes a lot of sense to leverage this strong business relationship in moving forward with an offshore deepwater export facility," Enbridge said in a statement.

Texas COLT, a joint venture between Enbridge and Oiltanking Partners, is another deepwater export terminal off the coast of Freeport, Texas in the Gulf of Mexico and is one of several similar projects proposing facilities that would move U.S. shale to overseas markets. 

(Reporting by Shreyansi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)