The Port of Corpus Christi recently celebrated the commencement of the Port of Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project, marking a historic milestone in the U.S.'s progress to becoming a net exporter of its energy production.
At a special ceremony that included area dignitaries and community partners, the Port of Corpus Christi spotlighted how the first dredgers in the Gulf kicked off the highly anticipated Channel Improvement Project, an undertaking that will deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel from 47 feet to 54 feet and widen it from 400 feet to 530 feet.
"This moment has been 20 years in the making, and our team at the Port of Corpus Christi is not only excited but humbled and deeply honored to play a role in the American energy renaissance," said Sean Strawbridge, CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi. "We are building and enhancing infrastructure and collaborating with new partners as we prepare to accommodate major growth in crude oil production."
Following the famed 40-year ban on crude oil exports, the Port of Corpus Christi handled the first shipment of U.S. crude oil abroad on Dec. 31, 2015. Its location on the Gulf of Mexico and proximity to the West Texas oil and gas boom drove demand and traffic for the port. Three years later, in 2018, the port exported $10.8 billion worth of crude oil to U.S. trading partners contributing to the offset of the U.S. trade deficit. The Port of Corpus Christi is currently the fourth-largest port in the U.S. in total tonnage, and the port's crude oil exports are expected to triple, and perhaps quadruple, as production continues to increase.
"Our port has been working toward this moment since 1990," said Port of Corpus Christi Authority Commission Chairman Charles Zahn Jr. "This achievement reinforces our position as 'The Energy Port of the Americas.'"
For more information, visit www.portofcc.com or call (361) 882-5633.
