Louisiana Offshore Oil Port Test Loads VLCC

Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), owner of the only U.S. crude oil deepwater port, has started test loading a very large crude carrier (VLCC) in anticipation of building its crude oil export potential.  

LOOP announced its intentions to seek shipper interest in vessel loading services to complement its long standing offloading services in July last year.  The new service will provide connecting logistics from LOOP’s Clovelly Hub in Galliano, Louisiana, to its deepwater port, 18 miles offshore of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The company only needed to make minor modifications to its existing facilities to operate the port complex bi-directionally and says the configuration safely enables both loading and offloading of VLCCs without multiple shuttle tanker movements.

The company said on Wednesday that it had moored a VLCC and initiated its detailed test and checkout procedure. MarineTraffic data indicates the vessel is named Shaden, a VLCC operated by Bahri.

LOOP provides crude oil offloading, loading, transportation, terminaling and storage services. It deepwater port includes three single-point mooring buoys which can accommodate VLCCs, 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.

The U.S. lifted its crude oil export ban about two years ago.