oil

[uscitizen]

ANALYSIS-US oil firms seek drilling access, but exports soar
07.03.08, 2:40 PM ET

United States - By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON3 (Reuters) - While the U.S. oil industry want access to more federal lands to help reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, American-based companies are shipping record amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel to other countries.

A record 1.6 million barrels a day in U.S. refined petroleum products were exported during the first four months of this year, up 33 percent from 1.2 million barrels a day over the same period in 2007. Shipments this February topped 1.8 million barrels a day for the first time during any month, according to final numbers from the Energy Department.

The surge in exports appears to contradict the pleas from the U.S. oil industry and the Bush administration for Congress to open more offshore waters and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

"We can help alleviate shortages by drilling for oil and gas in our own country," President Bush told reporters this week. "We have got the opportunity to find more crude oil here at home."

"As a nation, we can have more control over our energy destiny by supplying more of the oil and natural gas we'll be consuming from resources here at home," Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum (otcbb: AMPE.OB - news - people ) Institute, said in a letter last week to U.S. lawmakers.

But environmentalists and other opponents to expanding drilling areas could seize on the record exports to argue Congress should not open more acres if U.S. refineries are churning crude oil into petroleum products that are sent out of the American market.

"It doesn't look good to say: 'We need more oil.' But then export the refined products that you're getting. It doesn't seem to be consistent," said Jim Presswood, energy lobbyist for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/07/03/2008-07-03T184028Z_01_N02435397_RTRIDST_0_USA-OIL-EXPORTS-ANALYSIS.html

 

[uscitizen]

The exports were also equal to half the 3.2 million barrels of gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum products the United States imported each day over the 4-month period.

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also from the link. so we export and import refined gas and such.... sounds to me like we are a net importer of refined petro products though.

 

[Damocles]

The 1.6 million barrels a day in record petroleum exports represented 9 percent of total U.S. refining capacity of 17.6 million barrels a day.

*ahem* Most of it stays here. Increasing refining capacity, and domestic production would increase our independence from foreign sources.

 

[uscitizen]

yes increasing refining capacity. but no refineries seem to have taken advantage of the carte blanche for building refineries on old military bases now have they ? I wonder why ?

Of course damned tree huggers. but no applications to build or anything? hmmm

 

[Damocles]

yes increasing refining capacity. but no refineries seem to have taken advantage of the carte blanche for building refineries on old military bases now have they ? I wonder why ?

Of course damned tree huggers. but no applications to build or anything? hmmm

I think we need to make it easier for the smaller companies to take advantage of it. It's not like I think the big companies have some sort of benevolent nature. There's money to be made in just refining.

 

[uscitizen]

I think we need to make it easier for the smaller companies to take advantage of it. It's not like I think the big companies have some sort of benevolent nature. There's money to be made in just refining.

yeah cut off all tax advantages for mergers and acquisitions.
We need real competition.
I hope the new refinery being built in the dakotas does well.
It is the only new one attempted in what 30 years ?

 

[Damocles]

yeah cut off all tax advantages for mergers and acquisitions.
We need real competition.
I hope the new refinery being built in the dakotas does well.
It is the only new one attempted in what 30 years ?

Yep. I'm glad they voted for it.

 

[Crashk]

Maybe it's time to nationalize big oil to make sure 100% of our domestic oil stays in this country.

 

[uscitizen]

Maybe it's time to nationalize big oil to make sure 100% of our domestic oil stays in this country.

something along those lines is inevitable if things continue as they are.

 

[Good Luck]

Maybe it's time to nationalize big oil to make sure 100% of our domestic oil stays in this country.

We don't need to make sure 100% of domestic oil stays in country. The global market already assures that we will not export oil in any significant quantities. The simple matter is it makes no sense to do so. We currently import 70% of the the crude oil we use. If we export some of our domestic source, then we simply have to import more foreign oil. No company is going to do that, because the global market sets the price. It is not possible to sell U.S. oil higher than market, then import foreign oil lower than market. And if there is no difference in price (assuming the same grade of crude) then the only thing that would result from trading domestic oil for foreign oil would be adding transport costs for a net loss on the trade. No company is going to do that.

Refined products are a different matter, because refined products vary in price world wide. If a company can get a higher price selling to a foreign customer than they can buy refined products for from an established trade partner, then there is no reason not to do so. It brings in a net trade surplus for the deal, thus offsetting at least a small portion of our massive trade deficit in crude oil.