A Touch of Gas

Quintana is an island defined by the Gulf of Mexico, the Intracoastal Canal and the old and new channels of the Brazos River.  The river on the east end of the island – between the jetties - is the entrance to the Port of Freeport.  The only industry on Quintana is the Freeport LNG (liquefied natural gas) Terminal.  The terminal is on the Intracoastal side, about 1/2 mile  from the campground.

The four big booms visible over the top of our truck carry the hoses used to fill a ship, and last Sunday, a ship was being maneuvered into position by a team of tugboats – four of them that I could see, but I’m assuming at least one more on the other side.

The ship was the Excelerate out of Antweren (Antwerp) a Belgian-registered vessel.  It is an EBRV, or Energy Bridge Regasification Vessel, capable of carrying 138,000 cubic meters of liquid. Although it carries the company name, it is not the first or the largest of the vessels owned by Excelerate Energy, a limited partnership whose main office is in the Woodlands, Texas. 

I can’t tell you how long it takes to fill a ship that size; they started Sunday morning and were still pumping when we left on Monday.