Corpus Christi, TX, USA – CEOs of six well-known American energy companies today signed a letter addressed to President Donald Trump in support of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP). The letter requests funding for the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in an effort to meet surging global demand for U.S. produced oil and natural gas.  The Port of Corpus Christi is the largest export port of U.S. produced crude oil, and is a major export hub for U.S. energy products.  The full text of the letter can be viewed here.

CEOs from Occidental Petroleum Corporation, NuStar Energy L.P., Buckeye Partners, L.P., Howard Energy Partners, Plains All American Pipeline, and Cheniere Energy, Inc. specifically asked that the President include $60 million for this project in his Fiscal Year 2019 Presidential Budget to begin Federal participation in its construction.

”Funding the CIP is an opportunity to invest in a national transportation asset that would allow our U.S. companies and the port to significantly increase our export capacity and help solidify the U.S. as a world energy leader,” the CEOs stated in their letter to President Trump.

“With widespread bipartisan support, we are confident you will find this project the most worthy of funding of all U.S. coastal navigation construction projects in the Nation,” said Sean Strawbridge, Port Corpus Christi CEO in an attached letter to President Trump. “In support of this project are U.S. energy companies who themselves are investing billions in infrastructure from the rich producing energy fields of West Texas to Corpus Christi.  As the gateway to the global markets, Port Corpus Christi must ensure the infrastructure it oversees, namely the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, is capable of  transporting safely and competitively the anticipated increased export volumes of crude oil, natural gas, and other petroleum products. At the center of the emergence of the United States as a dominant player in the global energy market is the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project.”

Exporting American crude supports U.S. allies abroad by providing an alternative source for reliable and affordable fuel, strengthens our trading relationships and bolsters U.S. energy production. According to Energy Analysts International, the Port of Corpus Christi exported more than $6 billion of crude oil to U.S. trading partners in 2017 contributing to offset the United States trade deficit.