The deepwater crude oil export projects under development along the U.S. Gulf Coast offer a number of potential benefits to shippers and customers alike. These include the ability to fully load a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) and the economies of scale that come with that, the elimination of reverse lightering and the corresponding decrease in emissions, and freed-up access on congested ship channels for other exports such as NGLs, refined products and clean ammonia. So, given all the potential upside, why hasn’t anyone fully committed to building one? In today’s RBN blog, we focus on the obstacles faced by deepwater export facilities and where each of the projects under development is in the permitting process.
Note: On Tuesday morning, April 9, Enterprise announced that it has received the deepwater port license for its Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). Enterprise submitted its original application for the VLCC-ready offshore terminal in January 2019.
As we noted in Part 1 of this series, the U.S. crude oil market has undergone a transformation over the past 15 years. The Shale Revolution has allowed producers to unlock volumes that were unimaginable to many not long ago, especially in the champion of U.S. production areas — the Permian Basin. As we’ve blogged about frequently (see May Exports Be With You), crude export volumes took off and are expected to continue growing along with U.S. production throughout the 2020s, eventually stressing the ability of existing export terminals along the Gulf Coast (see Figure 1 below) to keep up. There is only one operational deepwater crude oil terminal with a single-point mooring (SPM) in the U.S.: the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (green diamond), or LOOP. Located 17 miles off Port Fourchon, LA, it was completed more than 40 years ago, but until 2013 it was only used for importing crude oil and didn’t load its first VLCC for export until 2018. Because LOOP receives crude oil from its onshore storage terminal at Clovelly, LA, most of the exported volumes are medium-sour crude oil sourced from the Gulf of Mexico.
Figure 1. U.S. Gulf Coast Export Terminals. Source: RBN
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About the song
“Patience” was written by Guns N’ Roses and appears as the fifth song on their second album, G N’ R Lies. Released as a single in April 1989, it went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song was allegedly written about the troubled relationship between GN’R lead singer Axl Rose and his now ex-wife, Erin Everly (daughter of Don Everly). In 1994, Everly sued Rose in Los Angeles for assault and battery, false imprisonment, and emotional distress. The case was settled out of court. A video was made for the song that was shot at the Record Plant and abandoned Ambassador Hotel (now demolished) in Los Angeles. Personnel on the record were: Axl Rose (lead vocals, whistling), Slash (lead acoustic guitar), Duff McKagen (acoustic guitar, backing vocals), and Izzy Stradlin (acoustic guitar, backing vocals).
G N’ R Lies was an album put together with four “live” tunes from the band’s limited-edition EP, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, coupled with four new acoustic songs. The “live” songs were recorded at Pasha Music House in Hollywood with crowd noise rumored to have been taken from a live Quiet Riot concert. It is the shortest GN’R album, with a running time of just over 33 minutes. It was recorded in 1986-87 at Pasha Music House, Take One Studio, Image Recording Studio, and Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles. The album was released in November 1988 and went to #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It has been certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA. The fact that an album put together as a holding pattern and after-thought while waiting for new material could be so successful is a testament to what a powerful and money-making band Guns N’ Roses was at that time.
Guns N’ Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The classic lineup of the band featured vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagen, and drummer Steven Adler. They have released six studio albums, one live album, four EPs, two compilation albums, and 24 singles. They have won four American Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, two World Music Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Twenty-three members have passed through the band since its formation. Original members Rose, Slash, and McKagen continue to tour with additional members Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, and Melissa Reese. They released a new single, “General,” in January 2024, and will begin an arena tour beginning in Canada and continuing to Europe in August 2024.
