Data from the latest RBN Crude Voyager weekly report shows that a record number of VLCCs, 15, entered U.S. waters for loading in the week ended November 24th. This is the fourth time since Gulf Coast terminals started exporting crude oil that so many incoming supertankers were noted in a single week. A higher VLCC presence is usually indicative of hectic activity in the forthcoming weeks, so we expect a higher volume of cargoes loaded and more ship-to-ship transfers over the next few weeks. So far in November, an average of 10 VLCCs have entered the Gulf of Mexico for cargoes each week. The last time we noted as many VLCCs entering the U.S. Gulf Coast was in April.
Featured Articles
- Analyst Insight
Surge in Incoming VLCCs Drives Record Reverse-Lightering Transactions in USGC
A record number of tankers that loaded shipments directly at Gulf Coast export terminals transferred their cargoes onto Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) in the last two weeks as reported in the Crude Voyager report.
- Analyst Insight
Surge in VLCC Presence in USGC Set to Drive Growth in Crude Oil Exports
Crude oil exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast posted the largest gain in nine weeks, rising by 521 Mb/d as terminals collectively loaded over 4.1 MMb/d in the week ended August 18 as per the weekly Crude Voyager report. Additionally, thirteen VLCCs entered the Gulf of Mexico last week for loading – the highest in four months.
- Blog
Berth in Reverse - Reverse-Lightering Crude Oil Supertankers Along the Gulf Coast
There’s a reason why more than half a dozen midstream companies and joint ventures are clamoring to build deepwater loading terminals on the Gulf of Mexico: because it’s a major pain to load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) any other way. These days, the standard operating procedure for loading the vast majority of VLCCs along the Gulf Coast involves a complex, time-consuming and costly process of ship-to-ship transfers called reverse-lightering, in which smaller tankers ferry out and transfer crude to VLCCs in specified lightering areas off the coast. Today, we ponder the current dynamics for U.S. crude exports via VLCC.
