Page 32: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (May/Jun 2017)

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Featured Port he Port of Corpus Christi lives up to its moniker “We saw a signifcant downturn in tonnage and revenue (last ‘Energy Port of the Americas,’ as the movement of year), as we were down about 10%, in some categories even energy in and out dominates the port’s history and more,” said LaRue. “This year has started to bounce back in a future. John P. LaRue, Executive Director, Port Cor- big way, and we have seen an uptick this year from just about ev-

Tpus Christi recently visited Maritime Logistics Pro- erybody. The ability to export crude has made a big difference.” fessional’s headquarters in New York City to discuss the nearly Illustrating the point using a top Port Corpus Christi customer $50 billion in investment projects driving the port forward. [Oxy], that frm has made quantum leaps in the export of crude “Let’s just start with what we are and what we are not,” said oil, going from zero barrels in 2015 to fve million barrels in

LaRue. “We are not a container port. Up until a few years ago 2016, with a projection to export 35 million barrels in 2017.

we were an oil import port (serving) three refneries: Citgo,

Valero and Flint Hills Resources. We also have two grain eleva- $50 Billion in Investment tors; and the only facility that we operate directly is dry bulk.” “About fve years ago with the shale revolution, logistics start-

Pure and simple, the Port of Corpus Christi is an energy ed to change,” said LaRue. “We received a lot of interest from hub, connecting the Gulf of Mexico with the vast U.S. inland mid-stream oil companies that wanted to move oil to other U.S. waterway system, positioned between the country’s two larg- ports, which drove a mini-construction boom with new docks.” est shale oil and gas plays, the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford. The mini-construction boom in new docks is one piece in a

Port Corpus Christi is the fourth largest port in the United mega-construction boom in and around the port, with nearly

States in total tonnage (about 100 million tons per year), a $50 billion in investment over the past four years to today. gateway to international and domestic marine commerce. “That’s more than some states,” LaRue said.

While the general assumption may be that anything energy- While cheap energy courtesy of the current global oil and gas centric would languish today given the three-plus year global price swoon conspired to reduce port revenues last year, there swoon in energy pricing, Port Corpus Christi has held its own. is a silver lining, LaRue said. “We have a lot of new industries

Cheap energy has attracted foreign industrial investment in coming in and we’ve been able to attract a lot of foreign direct the port, and the decision by the U.S. government in 2015 to investment because – not just because of the shale oil – but we allow the export of oil means that today Port Corpus Christi have a lot of natural gas, and there are a lot of companies right exports more oil than it imports. (Last year it imported 15.7 now that want natural gas to use in their processes.” million and exported 29.7 million tons of crude. For a look at Austrian steel maker Voestalpine is one, as it is using gas to the Top 10 imports and exports, see Chart 1.) heat iron ore and make it into an iron briquettes, importing the raw materials and exporting the briquettes to Europe. MG is

Top 10 Commodities, Import vs. Export another, an Italian PET manufacturer, currently building one of the largest PET plants. The list goes on, with OxyChem in-

Inbound Outbound volved in a JV producing ethylene; Chinese TPCO fnishing a

Rank Commodity Tons Commodity Tons plant this year to manufacture oil and gas pipe, and Cheniere, which is building an LNG plant in Port Corpus Christi, a proj- 1 Crude Oil 15,761,584 Crude Oil 29,714,938 ect which in and of itself has 3,500 people working today. “We 2 Fuel Oil 4,637,798 Gasoline 6,066,359 have a lot of work for a lot of people right now,” LaRue said. 3 Gas Oil 4,246,925 Diesel 4,531,766 “Between TPCO, M&G and Cheniere, we probably have 5,500 to 6,000 construction workers active today (in the port) … and 4 Bauxite 3,244,344 Sorghum 2,652,955 this is in a community of 300,000. The drop in oil prices has had 5 Feedstock 2,581,068 Feedstock 2,588,666 its impact as a lot of the people that were working the shale for- mations have come down and are working construction for us.” 6 Aggregate 1,672,308 Condensate 2,045,939

While each of these projects is substantial, the showstopper 7 Naphtha 1,072,998 Gas Oil 1,844,819 was recently announced; a joint venture between ExxonMobil 8 Reformate 708,888 Fuel Oil 1,653,480 and SABIC for a new $10 billion, 1,300-acre plastics manu- facturing complex on the South Texas Gulf Coast.

9 Benzene 599,896 Cumene 1,336,286

The project is under engineering review and design now, 10 Fertilizer 439,804 Naphtha 1,334,888 and when it comes to fruition it is touted to be the largest ethylene cracker in the country. The numbers surrounding the 11 Other 3,218,693 Other 11,520,094 project are Texas-big, as it is projected to create 6,000 jobs

TOTALS *** 38,184,306 *** 65,290,190 during peak construction, create 600 new permanent jobs at

Chart 1: source (Port of Corpus Christi) 32 Maritime Logistics Professional March/April 2017 | |