Note: graph for Canada exports stops at March while total graph above includes April data.
Posted on 06/16/2014 9:06:17 AM PDT by thackney
The United States exported 268,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in April (the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau), the highest level of exports in 15 years. Exports have increased sharply since the start of 2013 and have exceeded 200,000 b/d in five of the past six months. The increase in crude exports is largely the result of rising U.S. crude production, which was 8.2 million b/d in March.
To export crude oil from the United States, a company must obtain a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Under export licensing requirements, the following kinds of transactions will generally be approved:
- Exports from Alaska's Cook Inlet
- Exports to Canada for consumption or use therein
- Exports in connection with the refining or exchange of strategic petroleum reserve oil
- Exports that are consistent with international energy supply agreements
- Exports of foreign-origin crude
- Exports of California heavy crude up to an average of 25,000 b/d
- Temporary exports or exchanges
Licenses for other exports of U.S.-origin crude are considered on a case-by-case basis. For such other exports, the regulations describe the characteristics of transactions that will generally be approved as in the national interest.
Almost all of the crude oil exported from the United States has been delivered to Canada, and most of the recent increase in crude oil exports has been from the U.S. Gulf Coast (PADD 3). Gulf Coast crude exports averaged 134,000 b/d in the first quarter of 2014, a 283% increase over 2013's record high of 35,000 b/d. In the first quarter of 2014, nearly 75% of Gulf Coast exports have left the region from the Houston-Galveston district, in Texas. The remaining barrels were loaded in Port Arthur, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Exports from the East Coast (PADD 1) averaged 30,000 b/d in the first quarter of 2014, down slightly from 2013 levels, but up from 9,000 b/d in 2012. First-quarter exports from PADD 1 were evenly distributed between the Port of New York and Portland, Maine, which is the starting point of a pipeline that delivers crude to refineries in the Montreal area. Exports of crude from the Midwest (PADD 2) have long been a source of crude for refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.
Note: graph for Canada exports stops at March while total graph above includes April data.
Thanks to Jim Irving.
“Portland, Maine, which is the starting point of a pipeline that delivers crude to refineries in the Montreal area.”
So, boat loads of oil are coming into ME and then getting shipped by pipeline to Montreal. Very interesting.
"Whom God would destroy, He first makes mad."
SPR is pretty much full up.
And our own gas prices continue to rise. The only time this will be resolved is when odumbo is no longer.
I am not trying to be a smart a$$. Our refineries are not required to buy crude oil from the US. They buy it from whoever gives them the best price delivered to their refinery.
Thackney(our local Freeper oil expert) has explained to me that each refinery is set up to process different types of crude oil. For example, the heavy surfer crude coming from Alberta can not be processed by every refinery. Therefore, the best place to build a pipeline is to OK,LA, TX. Hence this is the route of the Keystone pipeline.
Other exporters of heavy crude are Iran and Venezuela. Alberta crude imports would potentially reduce imports from these two sources.
The oil coming from ND is light sweet crude. The increase in barrels of this type of crude has displaced imports from Nigeria and other countries that produce a similar crude product.
I mentioned Jim Irving in an earlier post. JD Irving owns most of northern Maine and New Brunswick. He also owns a refinery in St John, NB. He was one of the first to buy trainloads of ND crude oil. He is buying it because it is CHEAPER to buy it by railcar than by Supertanker, even though his refinery is on the North Atlantic coast of New Brunswick. Thackney, please feel free to correct any of my inaccuracy's.
My only consolation is that expensive gas reduces traffic congestion.
NAFTA mandates energy shipments across the Canada US border. Canada cannot deny access to US customers and US cannot deny Canadian customers. There is a continental market for energy and it flow both ways.
You’re exactly correct woodbutcher1963.
You might have added that the U.S. imported over 3 million bbl/day from Canada, during the same period. That makes the exports to Canada a rounding error. Essentially, Canada is buying refinery services from the U.S.A. — which, I’m sure, refinery workers and investors are happy about.
BTW, you could have a lot more Canadian oil — if you just allowed the Keystone XL pipeline to be built.
You are correct. I will point out that oil out of spec from the specific refinery design likely can be processed, but at a lower efficiency (and higher cost).
When you guys build the pipeline to Kitimat, BC I would bet that a lot of the oil will end up in the US refineries in WA and Ca.
Right.
Then how ‘bout maxing out our refineries and move out those stocks at 2 bucks or less per gallon and...
Oh wait. The EPA and the ecofreaks have made permitting and building new refineries right up there with nukes.
never mind!
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