The US Maritime Administration has approved the deepwater port licence application for Blue Marlin Offshore Port, a $1 billion crude export development off Louisiana, gCaptain reported. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the decision on Thursday, clearing a major regulatory step for a terminal designed to export up to 2 million barrels a day.
Developed by an affiliate of Energy Transfer, the facility is planned for West Cameron Block 509, approximately 99 miles off Cameron Parish. It will draw on existing and converted offshore platforms, with a dedicated pipeline network linking the loading site to the Nederland Terminal area in Texas and other inland crude supply hubs in Texas and southwest Louisiana.
For crude shipping, the project’s central feature is its ability to load Very Large Crude Carriers directly in deep water. The terminal is designed for a maximum loading rate of 80,000 barrels an hour, providing an alternative to more congested inland port facilities. MARAD says shifting loading operations offshore could reduce vessel collision risks and limit the need for large tankers to pass through busy coastal waterways.
According to gCaptain, Blue Marlin is the fourth deepwater port project approved under the Trump administration, after Texas GulfLink, Delfin LNG off Louisiana and the $8.2 billion ST LNG project off Texas. It is also the second crude export project cleared since President Donald Trump issued his Unleashing American Energy executive order in January 2025. The Department of Transportation expects Blue Marlin to support up to 1,052 construction jobs.
The approval follows a lengthy federal process: Blue Marlin submitted its initial application in October 2020, and MARAD and the US Coast Guard completed the final environmental impact statement earlier this year. The review involved other federal agencies and the states of Texas and Louisiana, while the Environmental Protection Agency separately proposed air permits in October. Although the administration is seeking faster offshore energy infrastructure approvals, it gave no construction start date or completion timetable for Blue Marlin.