Negotiations both to secure a deal to unload steelmaking material at the Port of Vicksburg and to rework Kinder Morgan’s lease to operate the port terminal are at critical stages, company officials told port officials Monday.

For much of this year, consultants with Kinder Morgan, which is based in Houston and serves as Warren County’s contract operator of the public dock and crane systems, have eyed a long-term arrangement with Severstal, the Russia-based corporate parent of the SeverCorr steel plant in Columbus.

The new steel plant could be the primary moneymaker for the port terminal, shipping material by water to the port here and then by truck three hours to Lowndes County.

Tom Murphree, regional sales manager for Kinder Morgan’s Lower River Region, remained confident both objectives could be achieved — though time is becoming short due to the steel giant’s desire to firm up land-based shipping routes in other parts of the state.

“This is the last hurrah,” Murphree termed talks with its highly-courted potential business partner. “Until I get their name on the dotted line, I won’t smile.”

In June, commissioners, appointed by supervisors to manage port operations and industrial sites at the harbor and Ceres park at Flowers, agreed to shorten the initial proposed length of the county’s contract with Kinder Morgan from seven to five years. It would have Kinder Morgan pay $235,000 base annual rent, plus 8 percent if revenue tops $2.255 million.

On Monday, the commission agreed in principle to those terms but agreed to a counteroffer, made at the behest of Severstal, to include three,  five-year options instead of a shorter string of five, two-year options.

Under the current agreement, base rent is $135,000 and performance-based payments to the commission total 8 percent if the gross tops $1 million and 15 percent if it tops $1.4 million. Before options kick in, the agreement is set to expire in December 2009.

Port Director Wayne Mansfield said he felt comfortable with the tenor of discussions. “We’ll be guaranteed $100,000 more and it appears to be a positive for the port,” Mansfield said.

Some iron-based materials have been moved to the northeast Mississippi plant and another 50,000 tons of pig iron will be moved by month’s end, Murphree said.

Tonnage for September was reported at just above 15,770 tons, down from August but more diverse in that more than 3,400 tons of grain and soybeans were unloaded. The majority, about 12,191 tons, was segments of pipe used by two natural gas transmission pipelines crossing Warren County.

One, the Southeast Supply Header, was placed in service in September. The other, the Midcontinent Express, is expected complete in late 2009.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com.