Suncoast Resources ceasing Jasper operations
Suncoast Resources, a Houston based oil and fuel distributor is ceasing operations in Jasper, reported KJAS.com.
The company’s offices and bulk plant on State Highway 63, near the intersection FM 777, will ceased on April 21. The company employed around five people locally but will transfer all but one member of that team to operations in other cities. The closest locations to Jasper included Beaumont, Lufkin and Sulphur.
Founded in 1985 by Kathy Ellis Lehne, a former Jasper resident, who worked for Ed Few and Jasper Oil Co. for many years, Suncoast has grown and expanded to 49 states.
However, in April of 2023 the company merged with Reladyne of Cincinnati, Ohio, which is said to be one of the largest fuel and oil distributors in the country, resulting in many changes and ultimately the plans to shut the operations down here.
BP announces oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico
April 14, British Petroluem (BP) announced an oil discovery at the Far South prospect in the deepwater United State’s Gulf of Mexico.
According to BP.com, the company drilled the exploration well in Green Canyon Block 584, located in western Green Canyon approximately 120 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 4,092 feet of water. The well was drilled to a total depth of 23,830 feet. The Far South co-owners are BP (operator, 57.5%) and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (42.5%).
““This Far South discovery demonstrates that the Gulf of Mexico remains an area of incredible growth and opportunity for BP,” said Andy Krieger, senior vice president of Gulf of America and Canada. Our Gulf of America business is central to BP’s strategy. We are focused on delivering more affordable and reliable energy from this region, building our capacity to over 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of the decade.”
Both the initial well and a subsequent sidetrack encountered oil in high-quality Miocene reservoirs. Preliminary data supports a potentially commercial volume of hydrocarbons.
The discovery in the deepwater Gulf of America underscores how BP is in action to step up investment in exploration and strengthen its upstream portfolio under the strategy reset announced in February 2025, according to BP.com.
BP expects to grow its global upstream production to 2.3 – 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2030, with the capacity to increase production out to 2035. Around 1 million barrels of oil equivalen
t per day are expected to be delivered from the U.S. onshore and offshore regions by 2030.
BWXT awarded Strategic Petroleum Reserve contract
BWX Technologies, Inc. announced April 9 a United States Department of Energy award to manage and operate the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The federally owned oil stocks are stored in huge underground salt caverns at four sites in Louisiana and Texas.
Strategic Storage Partners, LLC was formed by lead parent company APTIM Federal Services and BWXT Technical Services Group, Inc. to safely manage and operate the structures and systems of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The estimated value of the contract is approximately $2.6 billion over 10 years, comprising a five-year base period and one five-year option.
The scope of the contract includes operating and maintaining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s facilities and related systems, maintaining the highest levels of quality control, developing and implementing innovative approaches to site operations, and adopting practices fostering continuous improvement.
“As a premier operator of complex, high-consequence facilities in the U.S. and abroad, BWXT is honored to join with APTIM in adding this mission to our portfolio of work for the Department of Energy,” said Heatherly Dukes, president of BWXT Technical Services Group, Inc.
With an authorized storage capacity of approximately 714 million barrels, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil and was established primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products and to carry out obligations of the U.S. under the International Energy Program.
Abbott announces TMEIC manufacturing expansion in Waller County
April 16, Gov. Greg Abbott announced TMEIC Corporation Americas will be constructing a new uninterruptible power supplies and medium voltage drives manufacturing facility in Waller County. A Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant of $368,838 has been extended to TMEIC Corporation Americas. The project will create 62 new jobs to start and generate more than $65 million in capital investment.
“Texas is where advanced manufacturing and innovation in the energy industry intersect to power homes, businesses, and the Texas economy” said Governor Abbott. “This $65 million investment by TMEIC in Waller County will create 62 good-paying jobs for hardworking Texans — and that’s just the start.”
TMEIC provides comprehensive solutions for various industrial applications, encompassing automation, motors, photovoltaic inverters, and variable frequency drives on a global scale. TMEIC Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, was formed in 2003 following the merger of the industrial systems departments of Toshiba Corporation and Mitsubishi-Electric Corporation.
“Collaboration with the State of Texas and Waller County has been instrumental in facilitating our decision to invest in this region by fostering a pro-business environment and a robust manufacturing ecosystem,” said TMEIC Corporation Americas President and CEO Manmeet S. Bhatia.
Delfin secures final permits for first U.S. offshore LNG export facility
Delfin Midstream Inc. announced key federal approvals for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico, including the first-ever U.S. deepwater port license for LNG exports, reported the Pipeline & Gas Journal.
March 21, Delfin LNG, a Delfin subsidiary, received authorization from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to own, construct, operate, and decommission a deepwater port to export LNG. The approval marks the first offshore LNG export project licensed under the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 and aligns with President Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order issued on January 20.
The license followed a multi-agency review involving MARAD, the U.S. Coast Guard, and roughly 15 other federal bodies, as well as the states of Louisiana and Texas.
March 10, the U.S. Department of Energy granted Delfin an extension on its LNG export permit, allowing more time to commence shipments. The extension had previously been delayed under the Biden administration and was announced by Energy Secretary Chris Wright during his opening remarks at CERAWeek in Houston.
Delfin’s project is designed to support up to three floating LNG vessels with a combined capacity of 13 million tonnes per year. The company’s acquisition of the UTOS pipeline — the largest natural gas pipeline in the Gulf — further strengthens the project’s strategic position.
TAB applauds 90-day pause in tariffs
Texas Association of Business (TAB) President and CEO Glenn Hamer issued the following statement after the Trump Administration announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for more than U.S. 75 trading partners.
“We applaud the Trump administration for taking the important and necessary step to pause reciprocal tariffs in order to establish favorable trade relationships with our global trade partners for American companies. As the top exporting U.S. state for more than two decades, Texas stands to gain the most from robust, free, and fair international trade, and our state is proud to serve as the engine and the gateway to the North American economy with our top trade partners, Mexico and Canada,” said Hamer.
“Maintaining tariff-free trade under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)–the best trade deal ever negotiated–will be key to solidifying our region as the world’s preeminent economic bloc, strengthening our position against China and ensuring American and Texas companies can continue to compete–and win–on the global stage.”
Mubadala enters major U.S. upstream gas, LNG ops
Mubadala Energy, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered international energy company, announced April 10 they have signed an agreement with Kimmeridge, the energy-focused alternative asset manager, to acquire a 24.1% interest in Kimmeridge’s SoTex HoldCo LLC (“SoTex”), via the issuance of new equity.
SoTex holds two portfolio companies — Kimmeridge Texas Gas, which operates an upstream unconventional gas business in the Eagle Ford in South Texas, and Commonwealth LNG, which owns the 9.3 million metric tons per year (MTPA) pre-FID LNG liquefaction and export facility strategically located at the mouth of the Calcasieu Pass in Louisiana.
Through SoTex, Kimmeridge is building America’s first integrated gas independent to deliver low-cost natural gas from wellhead to water and meet burgeoning demand for responsibly-produced LNG across global markets.
Kimmeridge Texas Gas’ current net production is over 500 MMcfe/d which is expected to grow organically to 1.5 Bcfe/d by 2031, while Commonwealth LNG is finalizing key pre-FID workstreams ahead of taking FID later this year with first offtake from the LNG plant planned for 2029.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory filings and approvals before closing.
Permits files to build four mini-nuclear reactors on Gulf Coast
A subsidiary of Dow Chemical filed an application to build four mini-nuclear reactors at the parent company’s Seadrift site in Calhoun County, according to media reports.
The application was filed on March 31 and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) expects the review to take three years or less. If a permit is issued, construction could begin at the end of the decade so the reactors would be ready early in the 2030s, as the natural gas-fired equipment is retired.
Long Mott Energy wants to build a four-unit facility that would produce about 80 megawatts of electricity and provide heat to support Dow Chemical’s industrial processes. The reactors would use helium to cool their cores.
If approved, Dow would have to file a separate application for operating licenses. Also, if built and operated as planned, it would be the first U.S. commercial advanced nuclear power plant for an industrial site, according to the NRC.
The application is available for public review on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission website.
