Two years after Congress ended the ban on domestic oil experts, West Texas Intermediate crude is finally beginning to flow through the ports of Houston and Corpus Christi.
So far this year, 1.3 million barrels a day -- or roughly 15 percent of domestic production -- is being exported around the world. That equates to $1.5 billion a month.
“We're producing it, we're transporting it, we're processing and refining it and now we're exporting it,” says petroleum economist Karr Ingham. “Texas maintains its hold as the king of crude oil, certainly in the United States, and is a massive player on a global scale.”
Ingham says that means plenty of new jobs to help transport that crude to the ports and beyond.
“You're talking about mid-stream infrastructure, you're talking about port facilities, and all of these things bring employment with them,” he says.
Crude exports from Corpus Christi have already increased from 68,000 barrels a day a year ago to 384,000 barrels a day this April. The Energy Department projects that domestic production next year will top 10 million barrels a day, an all-time high.
“You're talking about an individual company selling a load of crude oil to somebody who has a need for it and is set up to process and refine it, or do whatever they're going to do with it, they may acquire it and resell it, who knows how these things go,” says Ingham.