Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) has begun commercial operations for phase one at the Battleground Oil Specialty Terminal Company (BOSTCO) project on the Houston Ship Channel (Texas, United States). Approximately 20 of the 51 storage tanks built during phase one construction are being placed into service this month, and the remaining tanks will come online during the next 6 months. A two-berth ship dock and 12 barge berths are also scheduled to be in service in October 2013.
Phase two of construction at BOSTCO is underway and involves the construction of an additional six, 150,000 bbl, ultra low sulfur diesel tanks, additional pipeline connectivity and high-speed loading at a rate of 25,000 bbl/hour. BOSTCO expects phase two to begin service in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The BOSTCO terminal is a joint venture of KMP (which owns a 55% interest in and will operate the facility) and TransMontaigne Partners. The terminal, worth almost US$500m, is fully subscribed for a total capacity of 7.1 mb (including the project's phase two expansion) and is able to handle ultra low sulfur diesel, residual fuels and other black oil terminal services.