Bringing VLCCs to port
Transport costs for US crude exports should fall as facilities are built to handle the largest tankers
US crude exports are already breaking records and new pipeline capacity will bring even more cargoes to sea by the end of this year. How this crude is loaded at the terminals—and the type of tanker it is loaded aboard-is about to change, promising new savings for oil exporters. Today, most US crude shipped to Atlantic Basin buyers is loaded on smaller 750,000-bl Aframax tankers. In contrast, almost all US crude sent to Pacific Basin buyers is transported using very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that can hold 2mn barrels each. Due to insufficient channel depth along the US Gulf Coast, almost all VLCCs must be reverse lightered: cargoes are initially loaded on Aframaxes, which then conduct ship
Also in this section
24 March 2026
It is an unusual story of out with the new and in with the old, as America First Refining shows the US going back to trusted energy security developments
23 March 2026
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
23 March 2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights how key waterways can become global chokepoints
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system
