VLCC

The U.S. government recently released the final rules for the Section 301 fees proposed earlier this year, intended to address the dominance of China’s shipbuilding industry. According to the new rules, exports on Chinese-owned, -operated or -built vessels are mostly excluded — great news for U.S. energy producers and exporters, especially in the NGL sector. In addition, things are starting to change in the LPG markets due to the U.S./China tariff war. Propane vessels are being diverted, at least one ethane cargo has been scrapped, and China is reportedly looking into exempting ethane from its 125% import tariff. In today’s RBN blog, we look at what the latest developments mean for the U.S. energy industry. 

Are you ready for Trumpian turmoil? Regardless of your opinion of the president, you’ve got to acknowledge he’ll be shaking things up. In fact, with talk of a tariff blitz poised to disrupt global trade, mass deportations on deck, notions like reclaiming the Panama Canal, buying Greenland and even annexing Canada, the turmoil is already well underway. And of course, energy markets will be front and center, with “Drill, baby, drill” the stated oil and gas policy du jour. With so much uncertainty ahead, it’s impossible to predict what will happen in 2025, right? Nah. All we need to do is stick out our collective RBN necks one more time, peer into our crystal ball, and see what the new year has in store for us. 

Are you ready for Trumpian turmoil? Regardless of your opinion of the president-elect, you’ve got to acknowledge he’ll be shaking things up. In fact, with talk of a tariff blitz poised to disrupt global trade, mass deportations on deck, notions like reclaiming the Panama Canal, buying Greenland and even annexing Canada, the turmoil is already well underway. And of course, energy markets will be front and center, with “Drill, baby, drill” the stated oil and gas policy du jour. With so much uncertainty ahead, it’s impossible to predict what will happen in 2025, right? Nah. All we need to do is stick out our collective RBN necks one more time, peer into our crystal ball, and see what the new year has in store for us. 

Guyana’s rise as a crude oil producer in recent years can only be described as meteoric. If forecasts from some of the most respected international agencies pan out, the South American country’s output may soon rival some of the world’s biggest offshore producers. But the developments there are not without some controversy: they’re the centerpiece of a dispute over the proposed Chevron-Hess merger, while neighboring Venezuela claims that much of Guyana’s oil reserves are actually within Venezuelan territory. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll take a deep dive into Guyana’s production, examining its grades, quality and export flows as it transforms into a major global supplier. 

For a few years now, crude oil shippers out of the Permian have enjoyed a surplus in pipeline takeaway capacity thanks to a slew of new pipes that came online just as COVID crushed demand, prices and production. But Permian production has recovered, and the takeaway situation is changing for some routes. For example, the pipelines from West Texas to Corpus Christi are running close to full, and if a new offshore export terminal gets built, Permian-to-Gulf-Coast takeaway dynamics would get far more complicated — and fast. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss highlights from our new Drill Down Report, which examines Permian crude flows to existing export terminals and the potential impacts of a new deepwater facility. 

As four proposed crude export terminals off the coast of Texas navigate the long and winding regulatory path toward potential construction, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) already does what they want to do. It’s the sole Gulf Coast terminal that can fully load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) bound for global markets. LOOP started as an import-only facility, but later flexed to bring oil in and move it out as the energy landscape changed. It’s easy to wonder whether a new offshore crude export facility might be redundant –— why build another one if LOOP could just export more? Turns out it’s not that simple. LOOP is different — in its construction, its connectivity, its role in balancing imports and exports and especially the types of crude it handles. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine LOOP’s niche in U.S. crude exports and the role it continues to play. 

The Nederland/Beaumont crude oil hub has been somewhat overshadowed recently by other Gulf Coast crude export hubs despite hosting America’s largest refinery, a handful of export terminals and pipeline links to the prolific Permian Basin. But while plans to build one or more deepwater crude export terminals could mean big changes for the Gulf Coast hubs, the Nederland/Beaumont area isn’t standing still. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss what’s ahead for the region and its emergence as a leader in NGL exports. 

If you asked someone where U.S. crude oil shipments would go when the Obama administration ended the ban on most crude exports in December 2015, it’s not likely that Nigeria would have come to mind. Yet this year marked the second time since the restrictions ended that U.S. oil has been sent to the OPEC member, this time to feed its long-awaited Dangote refinery. In today’s RBN blog, we will examine this development and the prospects for more U.S. exports to the West African nation. 

The Houston crude oil hub has become busier over the last few months, and if one or more proposals to build a deepwater export terminal nearby capable of fully loading a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) cross the finish line, it could become the hub supplying them. That could push Permian Basin oil flows on Houston-bound pipelines higher at the expense of flows to Nederland and Corpus Christi. In today’s RBN blog, the third in a series, we will examine the latest Permian oil flows to Houston and how that could change if and when a deepwater project comes online.