Reuters reports that the recent attacks around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman have increased insurance costs resulting to the decrease of purchases of marine fuels in the UAE Fujairah oil hub, as shippers are trying to mitigate their time in the Middle East.
The International Energy Agency expects that China and the US will become world’s biggest LNG exporters and importers in five years. The US will surpass Australia’s and Qatar’s LNG exports in 2024, Reuters reports.
The establishment of air emissions regulations in the form of Emission Control Areas (ECA) and the upcoming IMO 2020 sulphur cap are leading the search for economically, commercially, and environmentally acceptable marine fuels. US Coast Guard examiners are seeing a new trend on ships carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ethane. Namely, these vessels are using their cargoes as fuel during ocean transits.
According to EIA, the US crude oil production and lease condensate, accomplished a milestone in April 2019, with 12.2 million barrels per day. April 2019 is the first time that monthly US crude oil production surpassed the 12 million bpd. This record follows August’s 2018 record, when US crude oil production surpassed the 11 million bdp.
A wider conflict between the US and Iran would be negative for most types of ships and for the oil markets in general, as fewer ships will transit the Straits of Hormuz, said VesselsValue in its latest analysis, following tensions on the aftermath of the recent tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.
The American Petroleum Institute released its latest Monthly Statistical Report and API Industry Outlook outlining the increased growth and resiliency of the US natural gas and oil industry. Namely, US crude oil production reached a new all-time high of 12.2 million barrels per day in May 2019.
As EIA informs, the Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint due to the large volumes of oil that flow through the strait. In fact, in 2018, its daily oil flow averaged 21 million barrels per day (b/d), or the equivalent of about 21% of global petroleum liquids consumption.
The largest container vessel ever built in San Diego, Lurline, was christened and launched by General Dynamics Nassco, on Saturday, June 15. The vessel is a 870-foot-long, 3,500 TEU, 44,200 deadweight metric ton, combination container ship/roll-on, roll-off (ConRo) vessel built for Honolulu-based Matson, Inc.
US Senators Todd Young, Bill Cassidy, M.D., and Michael Bennet have brought the Waterway LNG Parity Act before Congress. This bill mandates excise taxes on LNG for marine transportation on inland waterways to be levied at a rate consistent with energy output regarding diesel and gasoline.
Following the visit of Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda to Washington D.C., the Polish Oil and Gas Company signed an agreement with Venture Global LNG to buy additional 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The volume of LNG coming from the Plaquemines terminal will increase from 1.0 to 2.5 million tonnes per year, and specifically from 1.35 to 3.38 bcm of natural gas after regasification.
