Consider this fact: Three out of every five barrels of crude oil produced in the US is exported, either as crude oil or in the form of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel or other petroleum products. Of course, large volumes of crude oil and products are still being imported, but the net import number is shrinking to zero, and if you count NGLs (ethane, propane, etc.) in the liquid fuel balance, the US has been a net exporter since 2020. Yes, folks, exports are now taking off, and the role of exports will only increase in the coming years. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the highlights of our new Drill Down report on oil and product exports and why they matter more now than ever.
Before the shale revolution changed everything, exports of US-sourced crude and petroleum products registered only as blips on the radar, a few hundred thousand barrels per day in total. But the sharp rise in US oil production in the 2010s, and notably the lifting of the ban on most crude exports in December 2015, ushered in a new era. Recently, it has become common to see 4 Mb/d more of oil shipped out of marine terminals along the Gulf Coast, and refineries, especially those in Texas and Louisiana, are also exporting a substantial portion of its production
As we call our new one Detailed report in crude oil and product exports, these shipments to foreign lands are now offshore, and have significant impacts on US liquid fuel flow patterns, price differentials, infrastructure utilization, and largely measure, the winners and losers in crude oil and products. markets And things will only intensify as the export economy increasingly determines which pipelines, refineries and port facilities capture production growth from the Permian and other basins.
