District Developing Plans for Supplying Water to New Industrial Customers -- TPCO America and Cheniere LNG

September 4, 2013

The changing energy picture in the U.S. and South Texas since 2011 has generated a steady stream of companies potentially interested in expanding or building new industrial facilities near La Quinta Ship Channel in San Patricio County.  

If ultimately permitted, funded and built, some of these industries could require significant amounts of water to support their manufacturing activities.

CORPUS CHRISTI LIQUEFACTION
Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC is seeking federal and state authorization and permits that will allow construction of a liquefied natural gas export terminal just west of Sherwin Alumina on the ship channel.  The proposed plant would convert natural gas to LNG and is being designed with three processing trains with the potential of exporting up to 13.5 million tons of LNG each year.

Cheniere has contracted with the San Patricio Municipal Water District to reserve 4 million gallons per day of water delivery capacity for the LNG operation. 

The contract also provided that Cheniere pay the full cost of a two-part preliminary engineering analysis looking at how to meet the wider growing demand for industrial water in San Patricio County.  James Schwarz & Associates is looking at upgrades to the raw water supply system that brings water from the Nueces River and the Mary Rhodes Pipeline.  Jim Vickers is developing an analysis of water treatment system expansion alternatives.

The raw water plan calls for the construction of a new pump station south of Sinton where the Water District takes Lake Texana water off the Mary Rhodes Pipeline into a 36-inch line.  Currently water pressure is provided by the Mary Rhodes Pipeline and by gravity as the water flows to the east.  The Board of Directors voted August 13 to purchase 9.3 acres at the pipeline interconnection point for the pump station.  The preliminary plan proposes other projects that could improve the hydraulic efficiency of the District’s existing raw water delivery pipelines.

The District is studying the feasibility of replacing 16 miles of a 60-year-old 24-inch treated water line from west of Odem to the West Portland Pump Station.  The line is in poor condition and is restricted to low pressure.  The $10 million project would allow the District to purchase more water treated at Corpus Christi’s O.N. Stevens Plant at Calallen.  The District has an existing contract to buy up to 10 million gallons a day from the city’s plant but is limited by the old pipeline.

TPCO AMERICA
The Water District has entered into a water supply contract with TPCO America to reserve up to 2 million gallons per day (MGD) of capacity.  TPCO America is building a seamless steel pipe manufacturing facility just east of Gregory.  TPCO plans to have the first phase of the complex in operation by early 2014.  The second phase will be a steel making operation and is expected to be in operation in about a year.  At full operation TPCO anticipates it will have 600 to 800 employees.

Meeting TPCO’s needs will require two District construction projects with a total cost estimated at $5 million which will be paid by TPCO.  The first will be adding capacity to the District’s Plant C.  This will include new sedimentation basins which prepare the raw water for filtration and adding 2 MGD of modular microfiltration capacity in the plant which was designed to be enlarged in increments.  The treated water will be delivered through an existing 36-inch line that runs beside the TPCO property.

The second project involves installation of an 8,600-foot connector pipe between the two lines that deliver raw water to the District’s Naismith Reservoir.  This new 36-inch connector will change the hydraulics of the existing system and provide approximately 2 MGD of additional raw water delivery capacity.

The District has also been in discussions with Voestalpine, an Austrian company that plans to develop an iron reduction plant on the Port  of Corpus Christi Authority’s La Quinta property.  An additional pipeline construction project will be required to deliver water to that facility.