Sentinel Midstream, LLC will build a deepwater port for exporting crude oil, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced recently.
MARAD said Sentinel had been issued the Texas Gulflink LLC (TGL) Record of Decision to own, construct and operate a deepwater port to be used to export domestically produced crude oil. The action is part of President Donald Trump’s Unleashing American Energy Executive Order signed Jan. 20, 2025, officials said. The proposed port will be located about 27 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas and will establish a shoreside support facility within Freeport Harbor. The project will also use dock space at the Port Freeport Public Docks in Freeport, TX.
“Today, we are unleashing the full power of American energy,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said. “With this approval, we are increasing our energy revenue and unlocking our vast oil resources—not just for domestic security, but to dominate the global market. This plan opens the floodgates for American oil exports, putting our producers in the driver’s seat and ensuring that the world looks to the United States—not foreign adversaries—for energy supply. By expanding production and giving American companies the ability to compete on the world stage, we are advancing American energy security, bringing more money into our country, and driving down costs for consumers.”
MARAD and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) received an application from TGL for a license for the port in May 2019. The USCG and MARAD prepared the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which was published on July 5, 2024. MARAD reviewed and addressed the substantive public comments received on the FEIS. Officials said the Deepwater Port ROD was guided by statutory requirements contained in the Deepwater Port Act of 1974.