Port of Corpus Christi

The Port of Corpus Christi is located in Texas on the western Gulf of Mexico, and is the sixth largest port in the United States in total tonnage. Its exports include coal, fuel oil, gasoline, feed stock, diesel, alumina, petroleum coke, toluene, cumene gas oil, and asphalt. A coal terminal that was planned at the terminal in 2012 by Colorado-based New Elk Coal Company, LLC was abandoned in August 2013. It was reported on the Port's website that New Elk Coal was going to pay a one-time fee in exchange for early termination of their 5-year lease.

Background
In February 2011, it was announced that New Elk Coal had entered into an arrangement with the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas for a long-term lease of 18 acres of land that will serve as a coal storage area, adjacent to the shipping channel and proximate to the bulk coal ship-loader, to provide New Elk with immediate access to export coal markets for its metallurgical coal. The property lease was effective February 8, 2011 for an initial five-year lease, with the option to extend the lease for five additional periods of five years. The facility is capable of exporting 2 million tons per year (tpy) and additional storage area is available to the company at the port to accommodate future mine production schedules. The port will ship coal from the New Elk Mine in Colorado.

Sierra Club warns against Texas export plans
In March 2012 the Sierra Club released a statement that the group had obtained documents showing the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas was considering amending a proposal to include more coal shipments.

The New Elk Mine is currently exporting coal out of the port, and Ambre Energy plans to do so in the near future. The report said executives are considering pushing for even more shipping capacity into the Gulf of Mexico. The report said the companies "view a decrease in domestic consumption as a signal to maximize revenue by looking to export markets." More capacity in the Gulf could give them access to Europe, Latin America and Asia with the Panama Canal's expansion. Ambre and other companies are also looking to expand export capacity in the Pacific Northwest to reach Asian markets.

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