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EIA: Benefits of lifting US crude export ban most evident if output rises

A study released Sept. 1 by the US Energy Information Administration was apparent cause for celebration for several oil and gas industry groups, which took its findings as confirmation that lifting restrictions on US crude oil exports would be a net positive for the industry as well as consumers. EIA developed several analyses that examine the implications of removing the restrictions for the price of US and global marker crude streams, gasoline prices, crude production , refining activity, and trade in crude and petroleum products. The study, Effects of Removing Restrictions on US Crude Oil Exports , was conducted in response to requests from US Sen. and current Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.) and former chairman and Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.), ( OGJ Online, Apr. 14, 2014 ), as well as current members Ronald L. Wyden (D-Ore.) and Maria E. Cantwell (D-Wash.). Murkowski […]

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Oil Export Bill Said to Be Set to Move as Price Fears Ease

Congress is set to begin consideration of a measure to lift the decades-old ban on U.S. crude exports after a government study concluded the move wouldn’t raise gasoline prices for consumers, people familiar with the plan said. A panel in the House of Representatives is planning to vote on a measure to lift the ban, which dates back to the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, as early as next week, according to three lobbyists working on the matter, who asked not to be named because the markup hasn’t been announced yet. The full House may vote on it later in September, leaving ahead the more difficult task of gaining enough support for repeal in the Senate, they said. Repealing the ban has gained new political potency as hydraulic fracturing has triggered a boom in domestic oil and natural gas output. Oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. have […]

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EIA: U.S. oil swaps make sense regionally

Crude oil swaps with Mexico makes sense for regional refiners, U.S. Energy Information Administration reports. UPI/Shutterstock/tcly WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (UPI) — The U.S. crude oil swap agreement with Mexico makes sense for regional refiners looking to bridge the gap between oil grades, the U.S. government said. The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security this month granted a request from Mexican energy company Petroleos Mexicanos, known also as Pemex, to swap as much as 100,000 barrels of U.S. crude oil per day for refining into the nation. The deal requires Mexico to refine the crude oil at home and forbids re-export to other nations. The U.S. Energy Information Administration noted the deal makes sense for North American refiners. U.S. refineries situated along the Gulf Coast are designed to process a heavier grade of crude, like that found in Mexico, while Mexican refiners are geared toward lighter oils, like […]

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US middle distillate demand, exports seen to slow on globally oversupplied market

Outlook for US middle distillate demand, which has grown slightly amid rising exports so far in 2015, will look bearish as the Brent/WTI spread narrows in a globally oversupplied market, speakers at Benposium East 2015 said in New York Thursday. Robust refining margins and lackluster demand growth in the first half of the year has led to the record-breaking stocks of ULSD in New York Harbor, Ed Morse, head of global commodity research at Citigroup Global Markets, said. Suzanne Minter, manager of energy analysis at Bentek Energy, said refined US product stocks have consistently been higher throughout 2015 than in previous years, and while demand is still increasing, it has not kept pace. "ULSD was supposed to be the barrel that refiners wanted to make, but these margins aren’t getting the uplift," Minter said. Article continues below… US Marketscan provides you with a daily market overview of the major […]

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Boehner: Oil export ban thwarts success

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, writes an op-ed in Pennsylvania newspaper in support of ending a 1970s ban on U.S. crude oil exports. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI PITTSBURGH, Aug. 24 (UPI) — U.S. House Speaker John Boehner wrote in a Pennsylvania newspaper the nation’s oil sector is headed for a "brick wall" in the form of a crude oil export ban. "For all its success, this energy boom is currently running into a brick wall in the form of … federal government policies that date back to the 1970s," Boehner wrote in the (Pittsburgh) News-Tribune-Review. Boehner, his Republican colleagues, led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska, and some Democrats, notably Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., have moved several pieces of legislation aimed at overturning the 1970s ban on the export of domestic crude oil. The ban was enacted after Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting […]

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BofA Says Collapsing Crude Drags U.S. LNG Exports Down With It

Plummeting crude oil prices have dimmed prospects for soon-to-start U.S. liquefied natural gas exports, Bank of America Corp. said in a note to clients Monday. The gap between U.S. and global prices for the fuel has narrowed as oil’s collapse reduced the cost of crude-linked LNG contracts in Asia and Europe, Max Denery, an analyst at the bank in New York, said in the report. Oil in London has tumbled 25 percent this year, falling below $45 a barrel Monday for the first time since 2009, while U.S. gas has dropped 8.3 percent. The reduced price advantage comes as Cheniere Energy Inc. finishes construction of its Louisiana export terminal, which is poised to send the first shipment of U.S. LNG from the lower 48 states before the end of the year. North American cargoes will enter the market as gas from newly-built Australian terminals adds to a global supply […]

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Gas Awakening From U.S. Shale Slumber as LNG Shipments Near

After years of languishing in a shale-induced coma, the U.S. natural gas market is waking up. Seasonal price swings will intensify as the country begins shipping liquefied natural gas cargoes to Asia and Europe later this year, said Bank of America Corp., RBC Capital Markets LLC and Wood Mackenzie Ltd. While that’s good news for traders yearning for volatility, it could be bad news for consumers. Exports will help prices rebound from the slump caused by the U.S. pumping record amounts from shale formations. Growing domestic winter demand is already causing spikes and trading volumes in futures markets have rebounded to the highest level in three years. Average retail gas prices also will rise with LNG exports, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “Connecting U.S. natural gas prices into the global market could result in wider spreads at home,” said Francisco Blanch, the head of commodities research at Bank […]

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Senate energy panel votes to lift oil export ban

An oil field is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. The U.S. Senate Energy Committee on Thursday narrowly passed a bill to lift a 40-year old ban on the export of crude oil, but the measure faces an uphill battle in getting passed by the full Senate. The bill to allow the United States to export oil and boost state revenue-sharing for offshore oil and gas drilling passed along party lines by a vote of 12-10. It was the second significant step in two days for advocates of lifting the ban: Republican House Speaker John Boehner announced his support on Wednesday for repealing the law. But Congressional Democrats remain reluctant to reverse the ban, citing, among other things, a fear it would lead to higher gas prices. Democratic support is seen as crucial to getting President Barack Obama to sign any legislation permitting crude exports. Senate […]

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DOE official: LNG exports could be limited by silt-clogged waterways, ports

Silt, which is increasingly filling US waterways and ports, potentially could limit US LNG exports if it is not dredged soon, a top US Department of Energy official warned. Sedimentary deposits in Louisiana’s Calcasieu Ship Channel, “where many LNG exports would be moving,” could reach a point where tankers moving in different directions won’t be able to pass each other, said Melanie Kenderdine, who directs DOE’s Energy Policy and Systems Analysis Office. “These, by and large, are federal responsibilities,” Kenderdine noted during a presentation on the Quadrennial Energy Review and energy security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “That makes funding projects difficult under sequestration and budget caps.” The problem should be addressed because DOE has approved LNG projects totaling 9.9 bcfd of export capacity, Kenderdine said. “If all of that gets built, it would bring us close to Qatar, which is the world’s largest LNG exporter […]

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Ending crude export ban would help rural US areas, House panel told

Rural US communities generally have benefited from the nation’s crude oil production renaissance, and potentially could be helped more if restrictions on exports of crude were eliminated, witnesses told a US House Agriculture Committee hearing on July 8. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David J. Porter called the crude export ban “a leftover relic from another period of time.” Allowing more US-produced oil to be sold overseas would spur domestic production, foster economic growth, and provide direct benefits to rural America and the nation as a whole, Porter said in his written testimony. “The export ban is more than just an outdated policy,” he maintained. “Keeping it in place is actually harming our economy.” When crude prices recently dropped, Texas felt harsh economic impacts as thousands of production workers were laid off and rigs were idled, he told the committee. The number of drilling permits the commission issued fell from […]

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