Bluewater Texas Terminals LLC has been given a thumb’s up to proceed with building a deepwater port offshore Corpus Christi in South Texas to expand Lower 48 oil exports overseas.

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority Commission said Wednesday a lease agreement and related pipeline easement was approved for the 50-50 joint venture between Houston-based Phillips 66 and global commodities trader Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. Their partnership was launched earlier this year.

Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale oil supply would feed the terminal via pipelines connected to the planned multi-use Midway Terminal oil storage facility on the coast, near Taft. 

“Port Commission’s approval of this agreement with Bluewater Texas Terminals caps yet another major inflection point in the...