NEW YORK, Aug 18: A consortium of oil pipeline and storage companies plans to invest $1.8 billion to build the US second deepwater oil import terminal in Texas, the companies said on Monday.

The terminal would be only the second facility in the United States capable of handling the largest oil tankers, known in the industry as Very Large Crude Carriers.

Enterprise Products Partners LP, TEPPCO Partners LP and privately held Oiltanking will each take a one-third stake in the project, to be called the Texas Offshore Port System.

The project will be able to deliver up to 1.8 million barrels per day of oil to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. The port would also include storage for 5.1 million barrels of oil.

The United States is expected to become increasingly reliant on oil imported on VLCCs as both domestic and nearby foreign sources of oil, such as Mexico and Venezuela, are declining.

Currently only the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is capable of handling VLCCs. Importers seeking to bring oil cargoes to Texas ports, such as Houston and Port Arthur, must offload their cargoes onto smaller vessels, increasing costs and the risk of spills.—Reuters