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Net petroleum product exports continue to increase

graph of U.S. net petroleum product exports, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly Over the past decade, domestic refinery output of petroleum products has grown significantly while consumption has declined, resulting in a major increase in product exports. Petroleum product exports averaged 4.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first four months of the year, an increase of 0.5 million b/d over exports the same time last year. Product imports are also higher than last year, but to a lesser extent, leading to an increase in net petroleum product exports. Import and export patterns vary by region, with most exports leaving from the Gulf Coast (Petroleum Administration for Defense District 3), and imports coming to the East Coast (PADD 1). Record-high refinery runs and increased global demand for petroleum products from the United States continue to push exports higher . […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. light oil exports double in May, mostly to Europe

NEW YORK U.S. exports of ultra-light crude, also known as condensate, have doubled since the start of the year, with most shipments headed to Europe, according to traders familiar with the deals and data from an energy consultant. The United States exported between 120,000 and 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate last month, according to traders and ClipperData, which tracks ships and terminal loadings, up from about 60,000 bpd at the start of the year. The condensate is lightly processed through stabilizers due to rules banning crude exports in the United States, now the world’s third-largest oil producer. The rise comes as more companies look to take advantage of the ability to ship the oil overseas, including to places like the Netherlands, France, South Korea and Brazil. "One of the main surprises is that the majority of the exports have been to Europe rather than anywhere else, when […]

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Cheniere moving ahead with condensate export terminal in Texas

HOUSTON Cheniere Energy Inc is moving ahead with a $550 million export terminal in Texas that will ship processed condensate to international markets, a top executive said on Monday. In addition, the terminal will be able to export any type of domestic oil if the decades-old U.S. crude export ban is ever lifted, said Nelson Lee, director of crude trading and origination at Cheniere. "The reason why we’re going ahead with that project is we think that we will have unfettered crude oil exports in U.S at some point, and there aren’t the sort of logistics for the crude to exit the United States," Lee said at an energy conference in Houston. Lee recently joined Cheniere from BHP Billiton Ltd, where he headed condensate exports. BHP was the first company to export condensate without waiting for approval from U.S. regulators. Speaking at American Business Conferences’ North American Crude Markets […]

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Woodside, Sempra mull Texas LNG project

Australian energy company Woodside exploring options for liquified natural gas export facility in Texas. Photo courtesy of Woodside. PERTH, Australia, June 4 (UPI) — Australian energy company Woodside said Thursday it was in preliminary discussions to explore options for liquefied natural gas development in Texas. The Australian company said affiliate Woodside Energy signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with energy company Sempra LNG. "[Both sides] will commence preliminary discussions and assessments pertaining to the potential development of a natural gas liquefaction facility at Port Arthur, Texas," Woodside said in a statement. The potential project could have a total export capacity of 10 million tons of LNG per year once permitted. In March, Sempra started the filing process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to export LNG sourced from U.S. reserve basins to countries that have, or will have, a free-trade deal with the United States. A special permit is […]

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What would it take to free U.S. oil exports?

WASHINGTON Lawmakers pushing to repeal the 1970s-era ban on U.S. oil exports face a steep obstacle: The Obama administration sees no need to fully remove the restriction while the country is still importing part of its oil supply. And many politicians are wary of a voter backlash if gasoline prices go up just as they open the door to exports. However, Senator Lisa Murkowski, the Republican head of her chamber’s energy committee, is expected to introduce a bill as soon as Tuesday night that would lift the ban Congress passed in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo created fears of global shortages. While there is plenty of resistance in Congress against lifting the ban, the prospects for a reversal could improve under some of the following conditions: THE US OIL PRICE DROPS FURTHER Mainly because of the U.S. oil glut, domestic crude producers now get about $6 a barrel […]

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Why Cheap Oil Is Bad News for U.S. Gas-Export Hopes

For the past year, many in the United States have been rubbing their hands at the prospect of a huge natural-gas export boom, raising hopes of a flood of cheap and clean fuel being shipped to friends in Europe and Asia. But the long-awaited gas boom has yet to materialize — and with oil prices well below last year’s highs, it might never. At the peak of enthusiasm over U.S. gas exports, more than 30 proposed projects jumped on the bandwagon, with grandiose visions of dispatching tankers full of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, and the Pacific Coast to thirsty markets all around the world. Leading U.S. politicians, from President Barack Obama to House Speaker John Boehner , R-Ohio, all have touted the prospects of Washington turning its energy wealth into geopolitical coin, especially now that Europe is redoubling efforts to reduce its […]

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US DOE sanctions LNG exports from Cove Point

The US Department of Energy reported that that it has issued a final authorization for Dominion Cove Point LNG LP to export US-produced LNG to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the US from its Cove Point LNG terminal in Calvert County, Md. The terminal is authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 770 MMscfd of natural gas for a period of 20 years. “The development of US natural gas resources is having a transformative impact on the US energy landscape, helping to improve our energy security while spurring economic development and job creation around the country,” DOE said. This increase in gas production is expected to continue, DOE said, adding that the US Energy Information Administration forecasts a record average production rate this year of 72.4 bcfd. Dominion Cove Point began construction on the export project in the fall after receiving authorization from […]

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Implications of higher domestic crude production for U.S. refining

graph of U.S. crude oil supply and disposition changes, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Turner, Mason & Company In response to multiple requests over the past years, EIA is developing a series of analyses that address the implications of current limitations on crude oil exports for prices, including both world and domestic crude oil and petroleum product prices, and for the level of domestic crude oil production and refining activity. The most recent report— Implications of Increasing Light Tight Oil Production for U.S. Refining —considers how refining activity in the United States might respond to low and high scenarios of increasing U.S. light tight oil production. EIA retained Turner, Mason & Company (TM) to conduct this analysis using their refinery expertise and modeling capabilities that represent the U.S. refining system in much greater detail than is possible using the modeling framework […]

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Freeport LNG unit closes on financing, starts building third train

FLNG Liquefaction 3 LLC, a unit of Freeport LNG Expansion LP , has closed on the $4.56 billion in financing needed to start construction of the third train of FLNG’s gas liquefaction and LNG loading facility on Quintana Island near Freeport, Tex. The construction cost for the combined three-train project is expected to be $12.5 billion, including owner’s costs and interest during construction. An additional $3 billion in funds were raised for refinancing and acquisition costs associated with the existing LNG import facility, letters of credit facilities, and a special contingency fund. With closing on this financing, Freeport LNG has completed all milestones and issued a full notice to proceed to CB&I Inc., Zachry Industrial Inc., and Chiyoda International Corp. to construct the project’s third train. Full three-train operation is expected by third-quarter 2019. LNG production from the first liquefaction train is expected in early 2018, with commercial operation […]

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EIA projections indicate US becoming a net exporter of natural gas

EIA projections indicate US becoming a net exporter of natural gas thumbnail In its recently released annual energy outlook (AEO2015), EIA expects the US to be a net natural gas exporter by 2017. After 2017, natural gas trade is expected to be driven largely by the availability of natural gas resources and by world energy prices. Increased availability of domestic gas or higher world energy prices each increase the gap between the cost of US natural gas and world prices that encourages exports of LNG and, to a lesser extent, greater exports by pipeline to Mexico. The AEO2015 examines alternate cases with higher and lower world oil price assumptions, which serve as a proxy for broader world energy prices given oil-indexed contracts, as well as with higher assumed US oil and natural gas resources. These assumptions significantly affect projected growth in annual net LNG exports after 2017. Net LNG exports […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple