Refining Centers along the upper Texas Gulf Coast have long played a vital role in supplying the energy products that power our vehicles, fuel in the U.S., state and local economies, and even protect our national security.
Expansion initiatives that would add 425,000 barrels per day of refining capacity are in teh works for the upper Texas Gulf coast, according to data from the federal government.
TOPS would help ease increasing congestion facing key ports along the Texas coast, and provide an added measure of safety.
With America's long-tern demand for refined products expected to increase, the Texas Gulf Coast energy infrastructure has never been more important. Recognizing the value of these assets, refiners are responding with a series of expansion initiatives that rank amoung the largest and most significant ever undertaken in the region.

The success of these expansions will depend on access to reliable supplies of crude oil, including those beyond the Gulf Coast area. While inland ports and shipping channels at key locations along the Texas coast will continue to be valuable resources of meeting the needs of refiners, operational limitations and increased traffic call for other options, as well. Planned widening and deepening projects will help address the challenges of delivering adequate crude oil supplies, but the long-term solution lies farther offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Texas Offshore Port System (TOPS) offers an efficient and cost effective alternative to offshore lightering and inland dock operations. Oiltanking Freeport L.P., the owner of TOPS, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oiltanking Holding Americas, a leading provider of crude oil logistics on the U.S. Gulf Coast