By Ryan Dezember
War with Iran helped drive shipments through the Port of Corpus Christi in south Texas, the country's oil-export hub, to a record during the first quarter.
With roughly 20% of the world's supply of oil and liquefied natural gas, or LNG, blocked from the market, Japan, South Korea and other countries that depend on Persian Gulf exports are looking elsewhere, and President Trump has encouraged them to fill up in the U.S. The Port of Corpus Christi's first-quarter volumes suggest they already are.
-- In addition to a quarterly record, the port handled an all-time high tonnage in March, up more than 10% from a year earlier and almost 20% greater than February's volumes, before fighting erupted in the Persian Gulf.
-- Much of what moves through the port are fuel exports. Crude oil volumes in March were up 2.1% from a year ago, exceeding 2.4 million barrels a day. Refined products such as gasoline and diesel rose more than 11% and LNG cargos jumped nearly 37% from March 2025.
"The dramatically higher shipment levels seen since the start of the conflict in Iran are a testament to our customers' ability to maximize their operations and quickly respond to changing market conditions," said Port of Corpus Christi Chief Executive Kent Britton.
He also credited more than $1 billion spent expanding the port over the past decade, after the U.S. lifted its ban on crude exports and LNG shipments started departing from the lower 48 states. Last year, for instance, the port finished a $625-million project to widen and deepen its ship channel.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2026 12:19 ET (16:19 GMT)
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