The following is a news release from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP):
(PORT FOURCHON, La.) — LOOP LLC has successfully completed the first very large crude carrier (VLCC) crude oil loading operation at its deepwater port 18 miles offshore of Port Fourchon.
“We are pleased to offer the enhanced capability to safely and efficiently load the largest cargo vessels in the world with crude oil for export,” said Tom Shaw, LOOP president. “There could not be a better time to offer this service as domestic production surpasses 10 million barrels per day in the ever dynamic global crude oil market.”
LOOP is the only U.S. port capable of fully loading a VLCC, which helps optimize America’s energy supply chain by enabling inbound vessels delivering foreign crude oil to leave LOOP with U.S. crude oil, rather than returning empty.
“The new onloading configuration was accomplished with only minor modifications to existing facilities and is scalable to meet the changing needs of the industry,” Shaw said.
Houston-based Shell Trading Co. U.S. (STUSCO) was the shipper of record for this historic cargo. LOOP, which has successfully offloaded more than 10,200 crude oil vessels since commencing operations in 1981, is currently preparing its 2018 shipping schedule.
About Louisiana Offshore Oil Port LLC
LOOP LLC provides crude oil offloading, loading, transportation, terminaling and storage services. It owns and operates the nation’s only crude oil deepwater port, which includes three single-point mooring (SPM) buoys in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, approximately 18 miles offshore of Louisiana. The SPMs can accommodate very large crude carriers, ultra-large crude carriers, medium-range Jones Act compliant tankers and floating production, storage and offloading deepwater facility shuttle tankers. LOOP also provides logistics services to pipelines that connect to regional and national pipeline networks and refining facilities. LOOP has more than 72 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity at its Clovelly Hub in Galliano, La. LOOP is a joint venture of Marathon Petroleum Co. LP, as majority owner; Shell Oil Co.; and Valero Terminaling and Distribution Co.
