1st oil export sails from Port of Corpus Christi

Just days after Congress repealed a 40-year ban on the export of U.S. crude oil, NuStar Energy and ConocoPhillips shipped the nation’s first cargo from the Port of Corpus Christi. The ship left the port on Dec. 31, loaded with light crude oil sold to the international trading company, Vitol, which is based in The Netherlands. The Theo T set out for Italy on Christmas Eve, beating out Enterprise Products Partners LP in Houston for bragging rights as first in the water.
Port officials have prepared for this day for years, by adding dock space and storage and dredging and widening the channel for the bigger ships now being used for crude oil exports. Commissioners approved $115 million in revenue bonds last April to finance continuing improvement projects. 
 “Infrastructure improvements at Port Corpus Christi have placed our port in a unique position as a critical component in the export of U.S. crude and condensate,” said John LaRue, Port Corpus Christi Executive Director. “Port Corpus Christi’s deep draft ship channel and strategic location to some of the largest production areas in the U.S. provides a secure and competitive supply chain to markets worldwide."
Future plans include further deepening the channel and moving and raising the Harbor Bridge, which is scheduled to be completed by 2020.
NuStar also invested heavily — more than $10 million — in recent years to expand its South Texas Crude Oil Pipeline System and its Corpus Christi terminal operations. That preparation made it possible to begin exporting immediately once the ban was lifted. 
"We plan on further expanding our Corpus Christi operations to provide more options to our customers to move Eagle Ford Shale crude oil, whether it is being moved domestically or internationally,” said NuStar President and CEO Brad Barron in a statement. "In fact, we are currently in the process of developing a second private dock in the Port of Corpus Christi."