Crude oil is being shipped out of the Tulsa Port of Catoosa for the first time in history, thanks to a strange disparity in oil prices between Oklahoma and the Gulf of Mexico. On July 29, PetroSource LLC shipped 45,000 barrels of crude oil from various suppliers down the Verdigris River on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. The company, which is an oil and gas accounting firm with a terminal at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, is looking to make another shipment soon.
Later in the story:
Capacity to move crude oil in the United States is lacking somewhat, and Gulf Coast refiners are clamoring for more product. Gilbreath said the oil is coming from various suppliers as far away as North Dakota. The company is hoping to make another shipment as soon as maintenance along the Arkansas River is completed. "It's such a weird thing that's happening," Gilbreath said. "The numbers just work in our favor right now." Shipping via the waterway is easier and cheaper than by rail or truck, he said. PetroSource has a terminal at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and regularly uses the waterway to ship other products. Several companies at the port's industrial complex ship gasoline, asphalt and other petroleum products on the waterway, but the crude shipment is a first, said port director Bob Portiss.
Wow, does the federal government (EPA, Homeland Security, FTC) know this?