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Exports from the US Gulf of Mexico are at their highest. Someone earns from the Russian oil ban

US Gulf Coast oil exports are set to reach an all-time high of 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2022 as refining capacity disruptions limit operators' ability to meeting demand and the US government's release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) increases supply, according to research by Rystad Energy . Over 95% of all US crude exports transits through the Gulf ports of Corpus Christi, Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur and Louisiana. The Biden administration is exploring ways to contain gasoline prices for U.S. consumers and is considering a full or partial export ban on crude oil, but many industry leaders and politicians argue that such a move would not necessarily lower prices and harm key allies.

Unprecedented government support for the domestic crude oil system has accelerated US supply, whose levels are expected to reach 13 million bpd this summer for the first time since November 2019. But the unintended consequence of the federal intervention is that more barrels than ever are being sold to international buyers.

Crude oil exports through Gulf Coast ports are projected to exceed 3.3 million bpd in the second quarter of this year, surpassing the previous record of 3.2 million bpd in the first quarter of 2020, before the pandemic. Covid-19 hit global markets. The Port of Corpus Christi is an important engine of growth, with an increase of more than 150,000 bpd to reach 1.86 million bpd, up from 1.7 million in the first quarter of 2022, far exceeding pre-Covid levels. Port of Houston's exports have also increased since the third quarter of last year, but are still below pre-pandemic levels. Then it would resume a trend already present in the US economy, of being an oil exporter, with Europe being an interested customer.

Domestic refining capacity in the United States remains depressed from pre-Covida levels, so it is not surprising that government intervention to support crude oil supplies has led to an increase in exports of domestically produced light barrels. This means that the US is capable of supporting global markets in the most challenging energy crisis of the past 30 years, ”says Artem Abramov, Rystad Energy's head of shale research.

U.S. Gulf oil exports remained relatively resilient during the Covid-induced crisis, generally hovering between 2.7 and 3.1 million bpd. The new growth trend was established at the end of 2021, following the resumption of domestic supply and the support given to domestic consumption by a moderate release of SPR.

The future is bright for Gulf Coast exports, with volumes transiting through the hubs of Corpus Christi, Houston and Beaumont, Port Arthur and Louisiana expected to accelerate in the coming years. According to Rystad Energy's baseline scenario, crude oil exports will approach 4 million bpd in the first three months of 2023 and will cross the 4 million bpd barrier by the second quarter of 2023, thanks to strong withdrawals from the SPR and rosy prospects for the internal offer.

However, it must be said that, at present, a further strong expansion of exports from the Gulf of Mexico is not to be considered possible, both due to the slowdown in production from the heavily exploited Permian basins, and to logistical problems that are not easily solved.


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Article Exports from the Gulf of Mexico USA are at their highest. Someone gains from the Russian oil ban comes from ScenariEconomici.it .


This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/le-esportazioni-dal-golfo-del-messico-usa-e-ai-massimi-qualcuno-guadagna-dal-bando-del-petrolio-russo/ on Tue, 28 Jun 2022 06:00:55 +0000.