The McEnery Company has been engaged by both private clients and institutional lenders to opine on the market value of the NOLA Oil Terminal tract located at Mississippi River Mile 59 in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The current ownership of the property has secured highly sought after permitting for the development of a marine liquid storage and distribution hub. The site has been issued a permit by the Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of two docks along the river, and also by Plaquemines Parish for the development of the tank farm and pipeline connectivity which are an integral part of the proposed operation. This permitting can be extremely hard to secure, and the site is actually the first permitted for this specific use since the Alliance Refinery site in the early 1970s. The entire frontage along the river is located on what is known as a naturally scouring bank, meaning that the river’s flow maintains the draft on its own, and no dredging is required. The draft capacity in this location is in excess of 100 feet, or far greater than is necessary for the “New Panamax” vessels which will eventually dock at the site. “New Panamax” is a new standard for ship size that has been created in response to the ongoing construction of a third set of locks at the Panama Canal. The new locks will be able to accommodate larger vessels than the current Panamax standard.
