LOOP made to offload world’s largest tankers
Attached to over 50% of US refining capability
David Paganie, Senior Editor
Linked to over 50% of United States refining capacity
T he Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) is America’s first and only deepwater oil port.
The slot center is situated in the GoM in the base of Port Fourchon, 18 mi south of Grand Isle, La., in 110 ft of water. LOOP may additional resources be the only slot in the united states with the capacity of offloading deep-draft tankers referred to as ultra big crude providers (ULCC) and incredibly big crude providers (VLCC), some needing 85 ft of draft clearance.
The slot comes with three single-point mooring (SPM) buoys used for offloading crude tankers and a marine terminal composed of a two-level pumping platform and a control platform that is three-level.
The SPMs are anchored into the seabed in about 115 ft of water, about 8,000 ft through the port’s marine terminal and 20 mi overseas. Tankers attach to 1 associated with the SPMs for offloading through a hose that is floating. Each buoy, calculating 21 ft in diameter and 46 ft high, was created to accommodate ships as much as 700,000 dwt. In addition, the SPM’s hoses can turn the full 360°, enabling the tanker to maintain a heading of resistance that is least to breeze and waves.
