Crude oil exports continued to plummet and fell to their lowest level in seven weeks as terminals collectively loaded 2.7 MMb/d for the week ended July 21, down 236 Mb/d from the previous week. The steepest drop in activity was in the Corpus Christi region, where terminals loaded only 1.6 MMb/d — the lowest in six months. All other regions loaded more shipments than in the previous week. With this, month-to-date exports for July were estimated at 3.2 MMb/d, while the annual average was pegged at 3.7 MMb/d.
The dullness in export markets was also marked by fewer vessel loadings during the week. Only 23 tankers received barrels across the Gulf Coast, down one from the previous week. So far this month, 78 tankers have loaded crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast, down from 95 at the same time last month.
