The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately owned crude terminal in the United States, said on Tuesday it had started to test loading and unloading of a supertanker, bringing it closer to being able to export crude oil. LOOP said last year its US Gulf Coast facility would have the capacity to load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), the largest oil tankers which can ship some 2 million barrels of oil, by early 2018.
Washington lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports two years ago, and since then tankers filled with US crude have landed in more than 30 countries, ranging from massive economies like China and India to tiny Togo. Gulf Coast terminals handle three-quarters of US crude exports, but only LOOP can handle incoming supertankers. Most US shipping channels are too shallow, although Port Corpus Christi, Texas, is undergoing improvements to deepen its channel.
Analysts believe operators will start to run into bottlenecks if exports rise to 3.5 million to 4 million barrels a day. Exports peaked at 2 million barrels a day (bpd) last year. LOOP made only minor modifications to existing facilities to operate the port complex for both imports and exports, it said in a statement on its website. It has until now only imported crude oil.
"The configuration safely enables both loading and offloading of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) without multiple shuttle tanker movements," the company said.
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