The Port of Corpus Christi next month will complete a dredging project that deepens the draft to an Ingleside, Texas, terminal, lifting overall export capacity by as much as 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), the port’s chief executive said.

The deepening of the Ingleside channel draft, to 54 feet from 47 feet, allows larger vessels to load and expands export capacity by 400,000 to 600,000 bpd, said Sean Strawbridge, the port’s chief executive officer, in remarks at the CERAWeek energy conference.

The port, located along the south Texas coast, sends some 2 million barrels per day of oil to global markets. Its expansion will complete the second phase of a larger port improvement and expansion project.

Corpus Christi accounted for about 60% of U.S. crude oil exports last year.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Liz Hampton in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio)