US oil export infrastructure faces post-boom bust
Previous anxieties over lack of infrastructure have been replaced with fears of looming overcapacity
Unbuilt US oil export terminal projects proposed in recent years are stuck in limbo, their prospects for construction bleak. And while capacity at existing terminals has continued to grow, oil flows into and through these facilities have been unable to match the expansion. This is a distinct turnaround from twelve months ago, when there were concerns about crude bottlenecks on the Gulf Coast and a lack of capacity to accommodate booming exports. Global energy demand destruction sparked by the pandemic has upended all forecasts and turned the problem dramatically on its head. The flurry of new deepwater crude terminal proposals kicked off in 2018 as developers scrambled to provide new capacit
Also in this section
23 February 2026
The country’s upstream players have demonstrated resilience to low oil prices and are well positioned to prosper despite a volatile market
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
