May 25, 2010 [Kallanish Energy] – The biggest oil-exporting port in the United States is getting 17 million barrels of additional crude oil storage facilities, Kallanish Energy reports.

 
That additional storage capacity for Corpus Christi, Texas, is expected to be available by August, although producers are increasingly desperate for storage options because of low commodity prices.

That additional storage could help producers in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Corpus Christi has six companies that are together adding more than 20 million barrels of new oil storage in the next year, according to port CEO Sean Strawbridge.

The port currently has about 40 million barrels of crude storage that is about 65% full.

In late April, Houston-based Moda Midstream added 10 million barrels next to the company docks in Ingleside, Texas, and at an inland depot near Taft, Texas. That is the biggest Corpus Christi project.

Terminal operator Buckeye Partners has plans to add 5 million barrels of crude oil storage at its Corpus Christi facility.

The other parties involved in crude oil storage projects are Pin Oak Terminals, NuStarEnergy, Flint Hills Resources and the Port of Corpus Christi itself.

Corpus Christi recently surpassed Houston to become the No. 1 U.S. port for crude oil exports.

Last January, it shipped about 1.38 million barrels per day and that volume is expected to grow. It handled about 40% of U.S. oil exports.
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