Page 44: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Mar/Apr 2026)

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ENERGY PORTS PORT OF CORPUS CHRISTI “We’re the third largest crude oil export port in the world, and we’re the leading crude oil export port in the United States. 60% of the crude oil that gets exported out of the United

States flows out of the Port of

Corpus Christi; that’s about 2.3 million barrels per day.” – Kent Britton,

CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi cade, Corpus Christi’s throughput has climbed from about

FROM INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMER TO 85 million tons to more than 200 million tons, driven

PORT CEO largely by crude oil exports and supporting energy fows.

Britton didn’t grow up through the traditional port au-

Yet the Port authority itself remains relatively lean. Brit- thority ranks. Nine years ago, he wasn’t “in the port space” ton puts headcount around 270 employees — a small at all. His background runs through large industrial manu- facturers—Glencore and Alcoa — followed by a move to number, considering the scale of cargo value moving through the channel every day.

Corpus Christi where he served as CFO at Sherwin Alumi-

And the economic gravity extends well beyond the Port’s na, a plant with deep roots in the region’s heavy industry.

payroll. Texas Comptroller reporting has highlighted the

In other words: Britton arrived as a customer. He under-

Port of Corpus Christi’s role in statewide trade and eco- stood how industrial operators think about costs, reliabil- ity, and throughput — how a few hours saved on a berth nomic activity, including the Port’s substantial share of window can ripple across a refnery schedule, a pipeline Texas seaport trade value.

Britton’s framing goes one step further: this isn’t only an nomination, or a charter party.

economic story.

He joined the Port of Corpus Christi in 2017 as direc- “It’s not just an economic driver,” he said. “Think about tor of fnance — right before Hurricane Harvey — be- came CFO in 2019, and moved into the CEO role about the energy that we’re supplying around the world… almost two and a half years ago. His leadership style refects that exclusively to our allies and trading partners… It’s a matter “customer-led” view of port investment: don’t build shiny of national security as well.” things to admire; build what improves effciency and com- 2025 VOLUMES: petitiveness for the companies actually moving product.

A SLIGHT DIP—DRIVEN BY CRUDE

The Port’s 2025 tonnage of 203.4 million tons came in

POCC: PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT

When Britton talks to locals, he leads with a statistic that’s slightly below 2024, and Britton doesn’t sugarcoat how hard to ignore: Corpus Christi is now one of the world’s much the crude number drives the narrative. When crude major crude export gateways. The Port has been widely cited is the dominant commodity, even small percentage moves as the largest U.S. crude oil export gateway and among the can swing the whole annual result.

Here’s what the Port reported for 2025: top crude export ports globally, moving roughly 2.3 million • Liquefed natural gas exports rose 15.4% to 18.6 mil- barrels per day in crude exports in recent years. lion tons

The tonnage story is equally striking. Over roughly a de- 44 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM