Houston and the rest of the U.S. Gulf Coast have more oil than the region can handle. Stockpiles in the region centered on Houston and stretching to New Mexico in the west from Alabama in the east rose to 202 million barrels in the week ended April 4, the most on record, Energy Information Administration data released today show. Storage tanks are filling as new pipelines carry light, sweet oil found in shale formations to the coast and U.S. law keeps companies from moving it out. Most crude exports are banned and the 13 ships that can legally move oil between U.S. ports are booked solid. The federal Jones Act restricts domestic seaborne trade to vessels owned, flagged and built in the U.S. and crewed by citizens. “You can’t get all that light, sweet crude out, it’s all kind of piling up,” said Jeff McGee , the founder of […]