The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port last week received its first Saudi Arabian crude cargo of the year, a stark contrast to 2017, when the terminal had received about 34.3 million barrels of Saudi crude during the same time frame, according to the latest S&P Global Platts Analytics and US Customs data. On June 6, ExxonMobil imported 1.049 million barrels of 33.1 API Arab Light on the Suezmax Maran Ajax. The last time the LOOP terminal received any Saudi crude by water was November 6, 2017, when ExxonMobil used the same tanker to import 550,000 barrels of Arab Light. The lack of Saudi crude coming into LOOP — and the US Gulf Coast more broadly — is a sharp reversal from previous years, and indicative of the kingdom’s commitment to OPEC and non-OPEC oil production cuts. By comparison, during the first six months of 2017, more than 38 million barrels […]