Oil exports exceeded imports along Texas’ Gulf Coast in April for the first time on record.
In April oil exports in the Houston-Galveston port district exceeded imports by 15,000 barrels a day, and in May that difference grew to 470,000 barrels a day, according to data from the Department of Energy. The Houston-Galveston port district includes the ports of Houston, Texas City, Galveston, Freeport, Port Lavaca, and Corpus Christi.
In May total U.S. crude oil exports rose to a record 2 million barrels a day. A year prior exports were just over 1 million barrels a day. The Energy Department said that on average since mid-2017 the Houston-Galveston port district has accounted for slightly more than half of U.S. crude oil exports. In May that proportion grew to 70 percent.
The Energy Department linked the growing crude oil export volumes to efforts at the ports of Corpus Christi and Houston to expand infrastructure. The port district of Port Arthur — which includes the Texas ports of Port Arthur, Sabine, Beaumont and Orange — is the only other port district that has seen significant crude oil export volumes.
This article first appeared on the Houston Chronicle – an Energy Voice content partner. For more from the Houston Chronicle click here.
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