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According to a statement on Tuesday, Port of Corpus Christi customers moved 55.8 million tons of commodities through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel during the second quarter of 2026, establishing the best quarter in the history of the port.
The first six months of 2026 also marked the best first half in the port’s history, with customers moving 110.3 million tons of commodities through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, an increase of 7.7 percent over the previous record first-half total of 102.4 million tons recorded during the same period in 2025.
According to the port, growth during the first half of 2026 was driven by “strong” performance across several commodity categories.
Liquefied natural gas volumes increased 36.3 percent to 11.5 million tons, while agricultural commodities reached 2.1 million tons, compared to 189,000 tons during the first half of 2025.
Refined products increased 8.9 percent to 17.1 million tons, other bulk liquids grew 11.7 percent to 8.2 million tons and natural gas liquids volumes rose 18.4 percent to 914,606 tons. Crude oil shipments remained “strong” at 66 million tons, a 1.28 percent increase over the same period last year.
The port previously reported a 33 percent year-on-year increase in its LNG volumes in the first quarter of this year.
LNG shipments were up 1.5 million tons in total, a growth of 33 percent over the prior year first quarter, the port said, without providing the volumes.
In the first quarter of last year, LNG shipments totaled 4.3 million tons, implying that first-quarter volumes were approximately 5.8 million tons.
Corpus Christi Stage 3 project
The rise in LNG volumes is driven by ongoing commissioning activities at Cheniere’s Corpus Christi Stage 3 project.
Cheniere is moving forward with the commissioning of the seventh and final train of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project in Texas.
The US LNG exporter announced the substantial completion of the sixth train on June 12.
The first three Corpus Christi trains have a capacity of approximately 15 mtpa.
The Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project, worth about $8 billion, includes building seven midscale trains, each with an expected liquefaction capacity of about 1.49 mtpa.
However, Cheniere is seeking authorization from the US FERC to increase the capacity of these trains and the other two midscale trains.
Upon completion of these expansion projects, and together with expected debottlenecking, the Corpus Christi LNG terminal is expected to reach over 30 mtpa in total liquefaction capacity later this decade.
