Houston Ship Channel: US Gulf Fuel Exports and Buyer Logistics

US Gulf as a global supplier

The US Gulf Coast (USGC) refines roughly half of all US capacity. Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lake Charles, and New Orleans collectively form the largest concentrated refining cluster on earth. Since the lifting of the US crude export ban, the Gulf has also become a major exporter of refined product.

What Houston exports

• ULSD (15 ppm sulfur — note the spec gap with EN590 10 ppm)
• Gasoline blendstocks
• Jet A1 (note: ASTM D1655 spec — same as Jet A1 globally with minor regional differences)
• LPG (the Mont Belvieu hub is the largest LPG market in the world)

Spec considerations for non-US buyers

ULSD-to-EN590 conversion requires either further desulfurization or blending with low-sulfur stock. Most reputable Gulf refiners can produce 10 ppm-on-spec material on demand, but it costs more than standard ULSD. Confirm the spec ladder in the SPA.

Dock allocation reality

Dock space at major Houston export terminals is leased months in advance by major trading houses (Vitol, Trafigura, Glencore, Mercuria). For smaller buyers, the practical implication is that "spot" cargoes sometimes mean buying from a trader who already holds the dock allocation, not from the refinery directly. This is normal — it is not a scam — but it explains why prices include a trader margin.

Canada-to-USGC connection

Canadian heavy crude flows south to USGC refineries via pipeline. Some Canadian product is also routed through Houston for export to Latin American and African destinations because the export infrastructure is more developed than at most Canadian ports.

What to ask

• Which exact terminal — Magellan East Houston, Enterprise EHT, Buckeye, Kinder Morgan?
• Is the cargo a blended export grade or a refinery direct?
• Who holds the export license?