Crude oil export volumes from the Gulf Coast should hit an all-time high in the second quarter, but that record shouldn’t last long, according to Rystad Energy.

Citing continued “depressed” U.S. oil refining capacity against pre-Covid levels, tied to refinery outages and releases from the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), Rystad’s shale research head Artem Abramov said it is “no surprise” that more domestically produced light crude barrels are available for export.

It means the United States can “support global markets amid the most challenging energy crisis in at least 30 years,” he said.

[Pipeline Focus: Amid an increasingly positive outlook for natural gas, North American midstream companies stand ready to connect supply with demand markets in the...