Diesel Margins

Net exports of refined products from the US Gulf are booming. Diesel exports are up over 300 percent since 2009 and gasoline is up five fold over the same period. The growth is driven by strong diesel margins and US refinery feedstock and fuel cost advantages. Some of those advantages derive from regulations banning most US crude exports. If, as rumored in Washington lately, regulators end the crude export ban the refined product export boom could screech to a halt. Today we look at the consequences for US refiners of an end to the crude export ban.