South Texas News

The Port of Corpus Christi on Wednesday named Chief Financial Officer Kent Britton as its new chief executive officer to head the largest U.S. oil-export port by volume.The appointment comes nearly four months after Sean Strawbridge, the previous chief executive, abruptly resigned after he was questioned about his business expenses.Strawbridge has said all his expenses were in compliance with port policies and state statutes, and have all cleared the internal review process and…

A storm system brewing in the Gulf of Mexico could strengthen into a named storm as it takes aim at the Texas coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday.The system, named Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, was about 480 miles (770 km) east-southeast of Port Mansfield, Texas and was packing maximum sustained winds of 30 miles (45 km) per hour, the Miami-based hurricane center said. It could cause coastal flooding along the south Texas coast between Monday night and Tuesday…

Oil pipelines from the top U.S. shale field to Houston that have run half empty are filling again as rising output has absorbed most of the space on lines to the main south Texas export hub in Corpus Christi.U.S. crude exports climbed to a record of about 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, spurred by recovering Chinese demand and competitive pricing for U.S. oil. Sanctions on Russian crude purchases by the European Union and Britain also have boosted demand.Pipelines…

A harbor tug has run aground after colliding with an oil tanker near Corpus Christi, Texas.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at the Sector Corpus Christi command center received a call at 4 p.m. Sunday from the agent of G&H Towing stating that the tug Mark E. Keubler had grounded outside the channel near the South Texas Gateway refinery and was taking on water.Before grounding, the tug was reportedly involved in a collision with the Saudi-registered oil tanker Nisalah.

Trade group the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) elected a new Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sean Strawbridge of the Port of Corpus Christi, last week during its 111th Annual Convention and Expo in Orlando, Fla. Outgoing Chairman Mario Cordero of the Port of Long Beach made the formal announcement during his address to members and attendees.AAPA President and CEO Chris Connor remarked on the transition, "Our work at AAPA is bolstered by the leadership and input of our chairperson and board of directors.

U.S. energy firms this week added the most oil and natural gas rigs in a week since April as rising oil prices prompt more drillers to return to the wellpad.The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose 13 to 601 in the week to Jan. 14, its highest since April 2020, said Baker Hughes in its weekly report. The total count was up 228, or 61%, over this time last year.U.S. oil rigs rose 11 to 492 this week, their highest since April 2020, while gas rigs rose two to 109, their highest since March 2020.

One of the United States' top oil export ports said it plans to build infrastructure for bunkering vessels fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).The Port of Corpus Christi Authority said it inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Stabilis Solutions to facilitate the use of LNG as a marine fuel at the U.S. Gulf Coast port as vessels running on the cleaner-burning fuel become increasingly prominent among the world shipping fleet.The Port of Corpus Christi said some of the…

US-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) firm Cheniere Energy has produced and exported its 1,000th cargo of LNG.The Houston-based LNG exporter said in a press note that the 1000th cargo was exported within a four-year time period after startup, setting an industry record and making Cheniere the fastest producer in the world to reach this milestone.Cheniere has produced these 1,000 cargoes from both the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project (SPL Project) and the Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project (CCL Project).“Reaching 1,000 cargoes of LNG faster than any producer in history is a testament to the performance of our people and the culture of our company.

Demand for sand to be used by the oil and gas industry in hydraulic fracturing operations in the US is set to grow by 10% in 2019 and 17% in 2020, said a report.According to Rystad Energy, frac sand supply, on the other hand, is forecast to increase by 10% in 2019 and then decrease by 2% in 2020 as more Northern White Sand will come off the market.The Eagle Ford Basin in South Texas could play a pivotal role for sand price developments going forward, said the energy research and business intelligence company.Contracted prices of high-quality Northern White Sand will likely fluctuate between $20 and $25 per ton at the minegate in the medium to long-term…

The South Port Connector Road Project received environmental clearance from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Pharr District Office, advancing the project to the construction phase.The project is part of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority’s (CCRMA) East Loop Corridor plan. When complete, the South Port Connector Road will span two miles and will connect Ostos Road at the Port of Brownsville with State Highway 4.The project will enhance the port’s intermodal connectivity, further facilitating domestic and international trade throughout the Rio Grande Valley.“The Port of Brownsville is a valuable asset to the Texas economy and a major economic force in the region,” said John Reed, Brownsville Navigation District Chairman.

Kinder Morgan Inc has dropped out of a recently proposed U.S. Gulf Coast deepwater crude export venture, the project's leader Enbridge Inc said on Monday.The $800 million project, known as Texas COLT, is one of eight similar projects proposing facilities that would move U.S. shale to overseas markets by loading supertankers able to carry up to 2 million barrels apiece.Pipeline operators Enbridge and Kinder Morgan disclosed plans to build an crude export terminal off Freeport, Texas, in January, and filed permit applications with the U.S. Maritime Administration. German oil storage firm Oiltanking Partners remains committed to the project, said Enbridge."The project does not align with our strategic priorities," Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Lexey Long said.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP is considering Freeport, Texas and other locations along the U.S. Gulf Coast for a crude export terminal it had previously planned for a harbor island off the south Texas city of Corpus Christi, an executive said on Thursday.Magellan is still considering Corpus Christi as the spot for the terminal, Magellan senior vice president Mark Roles said during a panel at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in downtown Houston. The terminal would be capable of loading 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) onto supertankers and room for up to 20 million barrels of storage capacity…

Booming U.S. oil exports have set off a scramble to build Gulf Coast ports to handle more than 3 million barrels per day in new supplies expected over the next five years.Of seven proposed oil-export projects, nowhere is the opportunity greater or the competition more fierce than in Corpus Christi, Texas, where three firms are vying to open the state's first deepwater port.Commodities trader Trafigura has taken an early lead with a planned offshore facility that has an easier…

Port officials on Tuesday are expected to consider $300 million in financing that would prepare the country's largest oil-export port - Corpus Christi, Texas - to handle a surge in U.S. shale production over the next five years.International buyers would like more U.S. crude but are unable to get it because of infrastructure constraints along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Terminals originally designed for imports only recently have revamped operations to handle exports including accepting…

Buckeye Partners announced the formation of a joint venture with Phillips 66 Partners and Andeavor to develop a new deep-water, open access marine terminal in Ingleside, Texas. The South Texas Gateway Terminal will be constructed on a 212 acre waterfront parcel at the mouth of Corpus Christi Bay. The facility is positioned to serve as the primary outlet for crude oil and condensate volumes delivered off of the planned Gray Oak pipeline from the Permian Basin. The terminal, to be constructed and operated by Buckeye, will offer 3.4 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity, connectivity to the Gray Oak pipeline and two deep-water vessel docks capable of berthing Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) petroleum tankers as part of the initial scope of construction.

Rising U.S. shale oil production will overwhelm the nation's refining capacity, with three-quarters of the additional oil produced in the United States by 2023 shipped to Europe and Asia, according to a new study by consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The research points to the continued impact of U.S. shale on global markets and the mismatch between domestic refining capacity and rising crude output. The oil could bottleneck at U.S. Gulf Coast ports unless new infrastructure is built, researchers said. U.S. refineries will absorb between 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 1 million bpd of the expected 4 million bpd of additional production to emerge from U.S. oil fields, Wood Mackenzie said in a study released on Monday.

United States taking share from OPEC nations in Asia, Europe, as China’s biggest U.S. crude buyer to double imports. In the two years since Washington lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports, tankers filled with U.S. crude have landed in more than 30 countries, ranging from massive economies like China and India to tiny Togo. The repeal has unleashed a flood of U.S. shale oil, undercutting global crude prices, eroding the clout of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and seizing market share from many of its member countries. In 2005, before the shale revolution, the United States had net imports of 12.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and fuels - compared to just 4 million bpd today. U.S.

The Port of Corpus Christi lives up to its moniker ‘Energy Port of the Americas,’ as the movement of energy in and out dominates the port’s history and future. John P. LaRue, Executive Director, Port Corpus Christi recently visited Maritime Reporter’s headquarters in New York to discuss the nearly $50 billion in investment projects driving the port forward. “Let’s just start with what we are and what we are not,” said LaRue. “We are not a container port. Up until a few years ago we were an oil import port (serving) three refineries: Citgo, Valero and Flint Hills Resources.

Residents fleeing most powerful storm on U.S. mainland since 2005. Businesses closed and lines of cars streamed out of coastal Texas as officials called for residents to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Harvey, expected to arrive about midnight as the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. mainland in more than a decade. The hurricane is forecast to slam first near Corpus Christi, Texas, drop flooding rains along the central Texas coast and potentially loop back over the Gulf of Mexico before hitting Houston, some models showed. "My urgent message to my fellow Texans is that if you live in a region where evacuation has been ordered, you need to heed that advice and get out of harm's way while you can," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a televised address.

Hurricane Harvey intensified early on Friday into potentially the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in more than a decade, as authorities warned locals to shelter from what could be life-threatening winds and floods. Harvey is set to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday on the central Texas coast where Corpus Christi and Houston are home to some of the biggest U.S. refineries. Oil and gas operations have already been disrupted and gasoline prices have spiked. "Now is the time to urgently hide from the wind.

NextDecade LLC has signed lease agreements with the State of Texas and City of Texas City for a close to 1,000-acre site at Shoal Point for the potential development of a multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility. Texas City owns almost 376 acres at Shoal Point, while the Texas General Land Office manages the adjoining 618 acres of state land. The agreement comes as the State of Texas continues to draw international attention following significant new natural gas finds totaling over 90 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in 2016 and as global buyers increasingly seek new, long-term competitive natural gas supplies to support their energy needs. “Now more than ever, the U.S.

Large U.S. shale oil companies, flush with cash raised through stock offerings, are gobbling up properties in the Permian Basin straddling Texas and New Mexico, a trend that could boost U.S. oil output in the second half of 2017. Hess Corp and Devon Energy Corp are among oil and gas companies that tapped the equity market in the first eight months of the year, raising a total $20.40 billion. That is the most since at least 1996, barring 2014 when the energy companies raised $20.46 billion in the first eight months of the year. The industry raised $19.78 billion through stock offerings in all of 2015, according to Reuters data, but almost all of this was used to pay off debt.

U.S. energy firms this week cut oil rigs for the 13th week in the last 14, data showed on Friday, a sign drillers were still waiting for higher prices before returning to the well pad. On Friday, OPEC decided to keep production near record highs despite depressed prices, as a way to boost market share by forcing rivals to reduce output. Drillers removed 10 oil rigs in the week ended Dec. 4, bringing the total rig count down to 545, the least since June 2010, oil services company Baker Hughes Inc said in its closely followed report. That decrease brings the total rig count down to about a third of the 1,575 oil rigs operating in same week a year ago. Since the end of the summer, drillers have cut 120 oil rigs. U.S. oil futures averaged $41 a barrel so far this week, down from $42 last week.