Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Houston fills with crude oil that can’t be shipped out
Bloomberg News via Fuel Fix ^ | April 10, 2014 | Naomi Christie and Dan Murtaugh

Posted on 04/10/2014 5:59:57 AM PDT by thackney

Bloomberg article so link only

My notes and highlights below

(Excerpt) Read more at fuelfix.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: energy; oil
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-44 next last
A lot of the Gulf Coast refineries were refitted years ago to be able to efficiently handle heavy sour crude (cheap) imported from overseas.

The light sweet coming out of Eagle Ford and other shale formations is more valuable and less efficient to run in the heavy sour refineries.

Crude exports here are banned.

There are 13 ships that meet the requirement of the Jones Act to move oil from one US port to another. Those are booked solid.

1 posted on 04/10/2014 5:59:57 AM PDT by thackney
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: thackney

Wouldn’t it be a prudent investment to convert those refineries to handle the light crude? I’m not sure I’d like to see us exporting light crude only to have to import the heavy crude from someplace like Venezuela or the Middle East. And building additional tankers will take years.


2 posted on 04/10/2014 6:04:31 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: thackney
More market bottlenecks caused by government.
3 posted on 04/10/2014 6:05:08 AM PDT by Former Proud Canadian (Cruz/Palin 2016)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Former Proud Canadian

Are you trying to say central planning of economies doesn’t work?


4 posted on 04/10/2014 6:06:27 AM PDT by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: DoodleDawg

Exporting expensive crude while importing cheap crude would mean we produce the same gasoline, produce the same amount of oil and improve the trade balance without spending more money to convert refineries while not getting a gain in production.

Converting the refineries will take years as well.


5 posted on 04/10/2014 6:08:18 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: wastoute

Yes, strange as is seems.


6 posted on 04/10/2014 6:10:59 AM PDT by Former Proud Canadian (Cruz/Palin 2016)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: DoodleDawg

The immediate answer is to complete Keystone. That would end our imports from Venezuela and severely damage a Russian client which spreads the socialist gospel in south America. End the export law and use our surplus oil to end what’s left of OPEC’s control. The inventory quantities, which is used by traders to jack oil prices, once on the market will be reflected in the world price. That’s the fastest way to restrict cash flow to Russia and the Middle Eastern sponsors of terrorism.

In LNG and oil we have a potential economic big stick that can harm our enemies and kick up economic growth in this country at the same time.


7 posted on 04/10/2014 6:16:13 AM PDT by meatloaf (Impeach Obama. That's my New Year's resolution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: meatloaf
The immediate answer is to complete Keystone.

And how would that help int this case? We would still have a surplus of sweet crude and a lack of refineries.

End the export law and use our surplus oil to end what’s left of OPEC’s control.

We don't have an oil surplus. Every barrel of oil we export has to be replaced by a barrel of import.

8 posted on 04/10/2014 6:22:09 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: thackney
Exporting expensive crude while importing cheap crude would mean we produce the same gasoline, produce the same amount of oil and improve the trade balance without spending more money to convert refineries while not getting a gain in production.

It's all expensive crude, coming and going.

9 posted on 04/10/2014 6:23:28 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: DoodleDawg
a lack of refineries.

The US refineries produce more than we use in the US. We do not have a lack of refineries. We have surplus capacity.

10 posted on 04/10/2014 6:24:12 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: DoodleDawg

I’m not claiming crude oil is cheap. But heavier oil (which has more BTU per barrel) is cheaper because it cost more for the refinery to produce products. And we have already spent the money to take advantage of the cheaper oil.


11 posted on 04/10/2014 6:25:36 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: meatloaf

I don’t think we have enough refineries to handle all the different types of crude, do we? We haven’t built a new one in years; just upgraded the older ones, at great cost, IINM.

http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=29&t=6


12 posted on 04/10/2014 6:26:04 AM PDT by Carriage Hill (Peace is that brief glorious moment in history, when everybody stands around reloading.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: thackney; Allegra; big'ol_freeper; Lil'freeper; shove_it; TrueKnightGalahad; Cincinatus' Wife; ...
Gadzooks! Is this another... black thing?
13 posted on 04/10/2014 6:29:37 AM PDT by Bender2 ("I've got a twisted sense of humor, and everything amuses me." RAH Beyond this Horizon)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: meatloaf
The immediate answer is to complete Keystone

Problem with that is it would require our commie president to do something beneficial to the US and detrimental to the Ruskies....something that would set back his plan to unilaterally surrender!!!

14 posted on 04/10/2014 6:29:57 AM PDT by ontap
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: carriage_hill

We refine more than we use ourselves.

It is far cheaper to expand and upgrade an existing refinery than build a new one from scratch.


15 posted on 04/10/2014 6:30:26 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: carriage_hill

American refiners are set to add at least 400,000 barrels of oil-refining capacity a day to existing plants between now and 2018, according to information compiled by The Wall Street Journal and the consulting firm IHS. That is the fuel-making equivalent of constructing a new, large-scale refinery.

On top of that, plans are in the works for several plants capable of processing the ultralight oil extracted from the Eagle Ford shale formation in South Texas. Those facilities, which are relatively inexpensive to build, aren’t technically considered refineries because they can’t handle a complex array of crude types or produce a wide mix of fuels.

These plants, called “splitters” or “toppers,” take the very light oil one step closer to becoming gasoline and diesel. Then the half-processed fuel can be shipped to Latin America, Europe and Asia, where refiners there finish the job.

Some energy companies that traditionally weren’t involved in refining are jumping in. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners KMP +0.28% LP, a pipeline company, is building an ultra-light-oil plant near the Houston Ship Channel that will create up to 100,000 barrels a day of fuels for export. Magellan Midstream Partners said it is considering a project that is similar in size and scope and would be located in Corpus Christi, Texas, about 200 miles to the southwest.

more at:
Shale-Oil Boom Spurs Refining Binge
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303874504579376962979450296
Higher U.S. Crude Production Has Valero, Marathon Increasing Capacity
March 2, 2014


16 posted on 04/10/2014 6:34:15 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: DoodleDawg

Would you rather import heavy crude from Venezuela and support a Russian partner which is a socialist regime or would you rather import from a neighbor, Canada, which to my knowledge does not support terrorism nor invade other countries?

Hurting Venezuela hurts Russia since they’ll have to prop up another regime. Now that you know refineries are designed to process specific types of crude, where will Venezuela sell their heavy crude once we, their biggest customer in the past, stop buying it? The idea is to bleed Russia while restricting their cash flow by killing high world oil prices.

FWIW, the Crimea will suck the better part of a billion dollars from Russia to fund their government and programs. The overall idea is to force Russia to embrace the suck and thereby end the possibility of their modernizing the military and restrict funds for other adventures.

There’s a reason the Saudis panicked over fracking. If we dump that oil on the market they and every other oil producer that relies on oil sales, including Russia, for funding their government, is totally and royally screwed.

The days of $100/bbl oil will be over.


17 posted on 04/10/2014 6:37:25 AM PDT by meatloaf (Impeach Obama. That's my New Year's resolution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: thackney

So, Is Obama right? We don’t need the Keystone Pipe line? (ducking)


18 posted on 04/10/2014 6:37:37 AM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 ..... History is a process, not an event)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: thackney

There are multiple storage tank facilities (with many, many units each) being built in Houston. They’re popping up like mushrooms.


19 posted on 04/10/2014 6:39:37 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bert

We don’t need the Keystone Pipeline if we want to keep refining more OPEC oil and less Canadian Ally Oil.


20 posted on 04/10/2014 6:47:06 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-44 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson