Talk of barging crude from the US Gulf of Mexico up to the East Coast is gaining traction as oil inventories along the nation’s refinery row continue to swell, traders said on Wednesday. Crude oil stocks in PADD III, encompassing the US Gulf Coast and home to just over half of the nation’s 17.9 million b/d refining capacity, stood at 207.2 million barrels for the week ended April 11, 2014, the highest level on record, according to Energy Information Administration data. The demand for domestic Gulf Coast crude has moved to up to include East Coast refiners but constraints on shipping from the Jones Act, which restricts shipments between US ports to US-made, owned and operated vessels, has some smaller producers and traders considering conversion of Jones Act Articulated Tug Barges (ATBs) from carrying petroleum products to carrying crude. Article continues below… Request […]