Nustar Energy Lp News

Venezuela's PDVSA and NuStar Energy LP have reached an agreement over outstanding storage fees, allowing the state-run company to resume use of a key storage terminal in the Caribbean, the U.S. energy firm said on Monday.NuStar had suspended PDVSA several times since 2017 from using its St. Eustatius facility over millions of dollars in missed payments.The terminal played a role in a legal dispute between PDVSA and ConocoPhillips, which earlier this year tried to enforce a $2…

Tankers carrying record levels of crude are leaving in droves from Texas and Louisiana ports, and more growth in the fledgling U.S. oil export market may before long test the limits of infrastructure like pipelines, dock space and ship traffic. U.S. crude exports have boomed since the decades-old ban was lifted less than two years ago, with shipments recently hitting a record of 2 million barrels a day. But shippers and traders fear the rising trend is not sustainable, and if limits are hit, it could pressure the price of U.S. oil. How much crude the United States can export is a mystery. Most terminal operators and companies will not disclose capacity, and federal agencies like the U.S. Energy Department do not track it.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency are working with Texas state regulators to clean up oil and chemicals spilled from a dozen industrial facilities after flooding from Hurricane Harvey, authorities said. The spills came from oil refineries, fuel terminals and other businesses, but EPA spokeswoman Terri White said it was not possible to provide an estimate for the amounts spilled. "Initial reports were based on observation," White said. Refineries owned by Valero Energy Corp in Houston, Motiva Inc in Port Arthur, and Exxon Mobile Corp in Baytown, were among the facilities that had reported spills, according to White. Representatives for those companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Emco Wheaton has played a pivotal role in the transfer of the first shipment of U.S. crude oil for export in 40 years, after the Theo T tanker set sail from the Port of Corpus Christi bound for Europe. The Greek oil tanker was loaded on New Year’s Eve by NuStar Energy LP at its North Beach Terminal at Port Corpus Christi in Texas using three Emco Wheaton Marine Loading Arms. To cost effectively and safely supply crude oil to the global market, Nustar Energy LP made significant investments in its Corpus Christi terminal operations in 2014 with the purchase of new equipment.

Demand for crude storage in the Caribbean, one of the world's most important oil hubs, is rising as producers and traders try to ride out the worst price crash in six years by holding onto more barrels or making blends that can be sold for premiums. The last time tanks in the logistically-important islands were this full, during the price collapse of 2009, companies started leasing vessels to use as floating storage. That is not yet happening now, but the only way to get tank space at the moment is to sublease it, said one tank broker with decades of experience. Since June, his firm alone has received requests to lease up to 7.5 million barrels of tankage in a region with some 100 million barrels of capacity.

NuStar Energy says it has completed construction of a private marine loading dock at its North Beach Terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas, and has its first ship at the dock to be loaded with crude oil. Originally scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of this year, NuStar expedited the project in order to meet strong customer interest in using the dock to transport shipments of Eagle Ford crude oil by water. The new dock project includes a series of 30-inch and 12-inch pipelines that move the crude oil from incoming pipelines or tanks within the terminal to the new dock…