Why are oil terminals often built farther offshore than ore terminals?

Oil terminals are often built farther offshore than ore terminals because of the nature of the cargo and the infrastructure required for handling it.

Because oil is a liquid, it can be pumped through pipelines, which allows the terminal structure to be limited to a small island with mooring devices and a light pier or jetty to carry the pipes. Since the ships themselves carry the necessary pumping machinery, there is no need for heavy mechanical gear at the berthing point. This high mobility of the cargo allows these terminals to be sited in deep water, which is necessary to accommodate the deep drafts of modern supertankers.1

In contrast, ore terminals must handle solid commodities, which requires hoisting grabs or other heavy machinery to lift the material out of the ship's holds. This necessitates more substantial foundation work at the berth to support the weight and operation of this equipment, making it less practical to build these terminals as far out in deep water as oil terminals.1