- Blog
That's the Good Stuff - Paraffinic versus Naphthenic Crudes; Implications for U.S. Exports
On December 18, 2015, Congress and President Obama ended the 40-year ban on U.S. crude oil exports to countries other than Canada. Today the arbitrage window doesn’t make much economic sense for most exports – Light Louisiana Sweet on the Gulf Coast is about the same price as Brent in the North Sea. But the prospect of selling crude abroad remains tantalizing for a depressed U.S. upstream, and U.S. producers have begun to consider the possibilities for more significant export volumes. But does the U.S. have the right stuff? Will the qualities of U.S. crudes be competitive in global markets? In today’s blog, we begin a series to consider the qualities of U.S. crudes that are likely to be favored by international crude buyers.
