据12月11日Hydrocarbon processing报道，美国石油基础设施提供商EPIC总裁弗里德(Brian Freed)在接受采访时表示，得益于美国低硫原油需求的不断增长，公司在德克萨斯州新建的终端装载了首批原油，并计划在2020年第三季度再建一个终端。
该公司位于德克萨斯州科珀斯克里斯蒂的终端拥有装载Aframax油轮的能力——该油轮以每小时2万桶的速度最高可装载75万桶石油，由于欧洲和亚洲的炼油厂赶在新的海上燃料标准出台之前寻找更多轻质低硫原油供应，这提升了Aframax油轮的运力。
弗里德此前表示，该设施计划于明年建成，届时将使公司的总装货能力增加一倍，装货速度达到每小时4万桶，并可装载更大型的Suezmax油轮。
EPIC是三条管道的运营商之一,今年开通的主要管线将美国顶级油田的原油运至墨西哥湾沿岸, 在页岩项目繁荣发展使美国成为世界上最大的原油生产国和主要出口国之际，EPIC公司也是数家启动出口项目的公司之一。
弗里德表示:“低硫原油品级将是一种非常有吸引力的原油，因此目前对西德克萨斯和新墨西哥州二叠纪盆地原油的需求非常强劲，且还有很多项目需要完成。”
从美国墨西哥湾沿岸到欧洲的Aframax油轮本月的运费一直保持在历史最高水平附近。
从明年1月1日起，国际海事组织(IMO)将出台一项名为《国际海事组织2020》(IMO 2020)的新海商法，要求远洋船舶使用低硫燃料以减少污染。这将有利于美国原油的出口，因位船运商对轻质原油的需求增加——轻质原油比重质原油更容易生产低硫燃料。
据船舶经纪人和Refinitiv Eikon的数据显示，俄罗斯能源公司卢克石油公司(Lukoil)租赁的Aframax级油轮Eser K号，周一从EPIC公司位于former grain终端附近出发，驶往英国，但没有说明货物的具体细节。
弗里德表示，EPIC已经安排了第二艘船，但他拒绝透露这艘船的具体情况。不过他证实了Eser K离开了Corpus。
今年8月，EPIC公司开通了从二叠纪盆地到科珀斯克里斯蒂(Corpus Christi) 40万桶/天的临时输油管道。
他表示，公司计划在第一季度初开设一条90万桶/天的生产线，并将开始提供第二个超轻原油品级——西德克萨斯轻质原油(WTL)。该公司使用的系统预计可储存700万桶原油，这种级别的原油最近才开始运往海外。
王佳晶 摘译自 Hydrocarbon processing
原文如下：
EPIC Midstream loads first oil tanker at new Texas export terminal
EPIC Midstream loaded its first oil tanker at its new Texas export terminal and plans to open another dock in the third quarter of 2020, benefiting from rising demand for low-sulfur U.S. crude, EPIC President Brian Freed said in an interview.
Its Corpus Christi, Texas, facility has capacity to load Aframax tankers, which can carry up to 750,000 barrels of oil, at a rate of 20,000 barrels per hour, boosting export capabilities as refiners in Europe and Asia look for more light sweet crude supply ahead of new maritime fuel standards.
The facility planned for next year would double the company’s total loading rate to 40,000 barrels per hour and could handle larger Suezmax tankers, which can hold about 1 million barrels, Freed told Reuters late Monday.
San Antonio-based EPIC is one of three pipeline operators that have opened major lines this year to bring barrels from the top U.S. oil field to the Gulf Coast, and one of several companies to launch export projects as the shale boom has helped make the nation the world’s largest crude producer and a major exporter.
“A low-sulfur barrel is going to be a very attractive barrel, so demand is strong right now” for crude produced in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, Freed said. “There’s room for a lot of projects to get done.”
Shipping rates for Aframax tankers from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Europe this month have remained near the all-time record.
A new maritime law known as IMO 2020 will require ocean-going vessels to burn low-sulfur fuels to reduce pollution beginning Jan. 1. That is expected to benefit U.S. crude exports as shippers take advantage of global demand for lighter grades, which more easily produce lower-sulfur fuels than heavier crude oils.
The Aframax-class tanker Eser K, chartered by Russian energy firm Lukoil, departed on Monday from EPIC’s facility near the site of a former grain terminal, toward Britain, according to shipbrokers and Refinitiv Eikon data. They did not specify the actual size of the cargo.
EPIC has scheduled a second ship, Freed said, but he declined to disclose the vessel. He did confirm the Eser K’s departure from Corpus.
EPIC opened its 400,000 barrel-per-day interim-service pipeline from the Permian Basin to Corpus Christi in August.
It plans to open a 900,000 bpd line early in the first quarter, and will begin offering a second, ultralight crude grade - West Texas Light (WTL) - as it batches shipments on a system expected to have about 7 million barrels of storage capacity, Freed said. That grade of crude has only recently started shipping overseas.
