Crude oil exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast declined once again last week. Only 3.2 MMb/d loaded for export between May 2 and May 9, approximately 500 Mb/d below the trailing 4-week-average (far right dotted line on chart below), and 713 Mb/d below the year-to-date average, as discussed in this week’s Crude Voyager Report. This marks the third lowest weekly volume of 2025 and the fourth weekly decline in a row. This drop in volumes was seen across load terminals in the Houston, Beaumont, and Corpus regions and accompanied a rise in commercial crude inventories of almost 2 MMbbl in PADD 3. The only region that experienced an increase in export volume was Louisiana, where a single Suezmax loaded from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP). This loading marks LOOP's first export movement in three weeks, and remains consistent with export activity seen out of the terminal in Q1 2025.
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Can't You See - Big Changes Happening Below the Surface in U.S. Crude Export Markets
Massive shifts are occurring in the U.S. crude oil export market, but you wouldn’t know it from the steady-as-she-goes pace of activity. The volumes being loaded along the Gulf Coast have stayed within a relatively tight range — 2.5 MMb/d to 3.2 MMb/d — for 12 consecutive quarters now, and the export pace for each of the past three quarters has remained within a few thousand barrels of 3 MMb/d. So, what’s changed? For one thing, Corpus Christi is now by far the dominant point of export, with Houston, Louisiana, and Beaumont/Nederland trailing. Another is that Europe, heavily impacted by the sharp decline in imports from Russia, is now the leading destination for U.S. barrels. There are other changes, too, including increased use of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and terminal expansion projects. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss highlights from our recently published Crude Voyager Quarterly Report.
You Really Got Me - Crude Oil Export Volumes Hold Up Despite a Barrage of Storms
Last week, Hurricane Delta became the latest of a string of hurricanes and tropical storms that have assaulted the Gulf Coast this year and disrupted energy production in the Gulf of Mexico — and energy exports. A number of major storms made direct hits or glancing blows to crude export centers like Corpus Christi, Houston, Beaumont, and Louisiana, forcing marine terminals to either slow down their carrier-loading operations or shut down for a few days at a time. That led to a yo-yoing of weekly export volumes: way down one week, way up the next. Despite the short-term dislocations, however, total export volumes since the hurricane season started on June 1 are actually up slightly from the first five months of 2020, a testament to the resilience not only of the export market but to the marine terminals themselves. Today, we discuss how hurricanes and tropical storms have been affecting export-terminal activity.
Take It to the Limit - Crude Exporters Navigate Gulf Coast Terminal Constraints
This blog is based on research from Morningstar Commodities. A copy of the original report is available here.
U.S. crude exports out of the Gulf Coast averaged more than 2.4 MMb/d in the first four months of 2019 — using infrastructure that is increasingly constrained by a lack of deepwater ports. U.S. crude is reaching destinations worldwide, with large volumes traveling long distances to Asia on gargantuan 2-MMbbl vessels — Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) — loaded offshore by ship-to-ship transfer. Shipments to Europe are primarily on smaller Suezmax and Aframax vessels. Overall, the increased marine activity is testing the limits of existing infrastructure. Today, we analyze the past 16 months of crude export vessel movements and their impacts on Gulf Coast ports. (We’ll also be discussing this and other critical trends related to U.S. export markets live and in person tomorrow at xPortcon in Houston.)
