Another energy milestone: US exports of petroleum products have tripled since 2006 to a new record high in July
The chart above shows monthly exports of US petroleum products from January 1973 to July 2013, based on data
from the Energy Information Administration. Federal law prohibits the
export of most US crude oil, but US refiners can export finished
petroleum products like fuel oil, motor gasoline, aviation fuel,
kerosene, diesel fuel, petroleum coke, propane, butane, etc. In July, US
exports of finished petroleum products and natural gas plant liquids
reached a new all-time record of 3.892 million barrels per day (bpd), an
increase of more than 20% from a year ago, and more than twice the
petroleum exports in January 2010 of less than 1.9 million barrels per
day (see chart). Compared to 2006 in the days before new technologies
revolutionized the extraction of tight shale oil and when US exports of
petroleum products averaged only 1.31 million bpd, America’s exports of
refined petroleum products have increased by three times, thanks to a
greater than 50% surge in domestic oil production.The tripling of US petroleum products over the last seven years to a new record-setting level in July is another important milestone in the Great American Energy Boom, which is transforming the global energy landscape and helping to revitalize an otherwise sluggish US economy.
Yesterday’s WSJ article “U.S. Refiners Export More Fuel Than Ever” provides some related commentary:
U.S. refiners are selling more fuel abroad than ever before, effectively exporting the American energy boom to the four corners of the world. As crude production soars in places like the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas, U.S. refiners along the Gulf Coast are increasingly using local oil, which is less expensive than the North Sea crude that European refiners use. That often means diesel and other fuels made in the U.S. are a bargain abroad even after adding the shipping costs.
While federal law bars overseas shipments of most U.S.-produced oil, refiners can export petroleum products created from that crude, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. In July, U.S. refiners shipped a record 3.8 million barrels of products a day to places as far flung as Africa and the Middle East, according to the latest monthly data from the Energy Information Administration. That volume is nearly 65% above the 2010 export level, when the U.S. oil boom was still in its infancy.
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