The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) said on Sunday that it had successfully loaded the first Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with U.S. oil bound for export in what could be a game-changer for U.S. crude oil sales overseas. The U.S. has already exported crude oil in supertankers, but because all U.S. ports except for LOOP are too shallow for the very large tankers, smaller tankers have had to make multiple short voyages to the supertankers to load them while they dock offshore. “There could not be a better time to offer this service as domestic production surpasses 10 million barrels per day in the ever-dynamic global crude oil market,” Tom Shaw, LOOP president, said in a statement. “The new onloading configuration was accomplished with only minor modifications to existing facilities and is scalable to meet the changing needs of the industry,” Shaw added. According to LOOP, Houston-based Shell […]