Matrix to offer more than 11 million barrels of LOOP Sour Crude storage

New York — A record 11.1 million barrels of LOOP Sour Crude oil storage will be auctioned April 7, auction platform operator Matrix Markets announced Monday.

During the monthly online auction 11,100 capacity allocation contracts, spanning from front-month May though the third quarter of 2021, will be available to bidders. Auction participants can bid on Capacity Allocation Contracts, each of which gives the right to store 1,000 barrels for one month.

Next week's auction will collectively equal 11.1 million barrels of storage for the medium crude blend. It is the largest volume offered at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. In comparison, 2.85 million barrels of storage was sold during the March 3 Matrix LOOP auction.

A massive glut of global crude supplies and a steep contango structure in the WTI oil market has created a massive demand for storage space. The dynamics threatens to swamp storage capacity for the first time in history and could mean facilities are completely full. LOOP operates eight underground caverns at its facility in Clovelly, Louisiana, that have a total storage capacity of approximately 60 million barrels.

Earlier this month, Matrix auctioned nearly 12 million physical storage contracts, representing some 11.85 million barrels of oil in Cushing, Oklahoma. It was the largest volume ever sold during one Matrix's online auctions.