December 19, 2015 – The Seattle Times
Lifting oil-export ban unlikely to affect state right away
By: Hal Bernton
With a 40-year oil-export ban lifted Friday by Congress, Washington terminals that receive Bakken shale crude by rail will be able to send unrefined product to Asia.
In the years ahead, that might be an attractive option. But current market conditions make the West Coast terminals an unlikely launching point for major overseas shipments, according to industry analysts.
Read the full article here: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/change-unlikely-to-help-washington-state-oil-terminals/
Oil markets have a long history of volatility, which has been underscored in recent years as U.S. crude prices dropped from more than $100 per barrel in 2014 to less than $35 per barrel last week.
In the years ahead, the markets could shift once again to favor shipping Bakken crude to Asia.
If that happened, a Vancouver terminal would be well situated to profit from exports, according to Sandy Fielden, director of energy analytics for Houston-based RBN Energy LLC.
The new flexibility to send oil to international markets would give the Vancouver terminal “more intrinsic value than if it is just feeding refineries in California,” Fielden said.
