LOOP
Louisiana Offshore Oil Port
Meaning
LOOP (Louisiana Offshore Oil Port) is the only US port that can load and discharge fully laden VLCCs directly, via offshore single point moorings.
LOOP explained
LOOP sits in deep water off Louisiana and connects to onshore storage by pipeline. It was built for imports and now also loads crude exports onto VLCCs, an alternative to reverse lightering off Texas.
Related terms
SPM
A single point mooring (SPM) is an offshore buoy a tanker moors to and loads or discharges through, connected to shore by subsea pipelines.
Lightering
Lightering is transferring part of a large tanker's cargo to smaller ships so it can enter a port too shallow for it fully laden.
VLCC
A VLCC is a very large crude carrier of roughly 200,000 to 320,000 deadweight tonnes, carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil.