2.5M extra barrels of storage, larger Gray Oak volumes amp up expectations for quicker loading rates
Very Large Crude Carriers are a very big deal in Corpus Christi right now.
March was the busiest month in Port of Corpus Christi history, according to news reports, thanks in part to VLCC traffic contracted by Asian countries that had imported oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq prior to the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
And while Middle Eastern traffic is expected to eventually return to pre-conflict levels, continued global supply instability could lead to steady growth over time for U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) crude exports.
That means busier days ahead for the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center.
Already a lynchpin of global energy dynamics, the Corpus Christi-based EIEC is the largest crude storage and export facility by volume in the United States, currently shipping 25% of crude from the USGC.
The EIEC has a loading rate of 200,000 barrels an hour, 4 deep-water berths (2 of which can accommodate VLCCs), and proximity to open water that reduces turnaround time.
On May 8, as part of Enbridge’s Q1 financial results, we made a pair of announcements that expect to yield incrementally larger EIEC export volumes headed to international markets:
- The EIEC’s Phase VII tank expansion added an extra 2.5 million barrels of storage, bringing the facility’s total to 20 million barrels.
- Expansion of our Gray Oak Pipeline, the largest of five Texas pipelines delivering oil to the EIEC, is now complete, with Gray Oak now moving more than a million (1,020,000) barrels per day.
“We acquired neighboring docks (in 2025) and we’ve got lots of permitted headroom on the docks,” Colin Gruending, Enbridge’s Executive Vice President and President of our Liquids Pipelines business, told reporters during Enbridge’s Q4 2025 earnings call on Feb. 13.
The 850-mile Gray Oak pipeline, which delivers Permian crude to the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center near Corpus Christi, TX, now has an annual average capacity of 1,020,000 barrels per day.
The EIEC, he said, “is a big, long-term opportunity that we’re looking to realize for many years as the Permian grows again.”
With direct connectivity to five pipelines (Gray Oak, Cactus I, Cactus II, EPIC and Harvest), EIEC can receive multiple grades of crude into the facility from the Permian and Eagle Ford basins.
In 2025, EIEC loaded 415,420,684 barrels of crude, an average of about 1.13 million barrels per day.
Enbridge Permian egress and USGC export expansions: Why they matter
- The Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) is one of the largest U.S. crude export facilities, supporting Gulf Coast exports through four deepwater docks and high‑capacity marine loading systems.
- The Phase VII project added approximately 2.5 million barrels of storage, increasing total onsite capacity to about 20 million barrels.
- The Gray Oak Pipeline expansion is in service, increasing capacity to roughly 1.02 million barrels per day and enhancing Permian crude supply to the terminal.
- During 2025, EIEC handled more than 415 million barrels of crude oil, reflecting strong utilization within existing commercial agreements.
