The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately owned crude terminal in the United States, is pursuing contracts to export crude from its U.S. Gulf Coast facility, the company said on Monday to Reuters.
Until now, LOOP has taken imported oil at the facility and the new services would be its first for exports. The services could be available by early 2018, LOOP said.
The facility would have the capacity to load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), the largest oil tankers, which can ship some 2 million barrels of oil.
The new service would provide connectivity from LOOP's Clovelly Hub in Louisiana to its deepwater port 17 miles (27 km) offshore in Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
To make the facility export capable, LOOP would utilize its existing configuration with minor modifications, the company said.
The United States lifted its ban on exporting domestic oil in December 2015, sparking a surge of exports from terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Occidental Petroleum Corp's Ingleside Energy Center near Corpus Christi this year became the first facility along the U.S. Gulf Coast to receive a VLCC.
Reporting by Liz Hampton; Editing by James Dalgleish and Lisa Shumaker
