Crude Expoerts

The race to load the first freely exported U.S. crude cargo was won by NuStar’s Corpus Christi terminal, edging out Enterprise’s Houston terminal, as the Theo T set sail for Italy on New Year’s Eve with Eagle Ford crude and condensate on board. Midstream companies are now set to fiercely compete, not just for bragging rights but for terminal fees, as more U.S. crude heads overseas. But where exactly will that crude go? With oil prices tracking below $40/Bbl and narrow differentials prevailing between U.S. and overseas crudes, breaking into new markets will be tough. Today we outline which markets are most likely to absorb U.S. crude supply.

Two years ago production of super light crude known as condensate in the South Texas Eagle Ford was surging. Most Gulf Coast refineries did not want to process this light material and it was discounted to regular crude. The discounts led to a number of project announcements to build stand-alone condensate splitters – a kind of simple refinery that would process it into refined products. During 2014 these projects were cast into doubt by the easing of condensate export restrictions that appeared to offer a less expensive solution to the condensate challenge. More recently the possibily of declining production could also threaten splitter economics. But splitters are still being built and coming online this year and next – with two new projects announced recently.  Today we review current splitter projects in the light of market developments.