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world’s biggest producers, according to Any talk of the US impact on global energy has to include the US plan to export liquefied natural gas
the Paris-based energy watchdog, the
International Energy Agency. exports of liquefied petroleum gas However, there are issues
will continue to light a flame under clouding the development of US
US refining capacity rose to 18m the midsize and very large gas carrier exports of LNG.
bpd in 2014 to cope with processing industry.
this crude. A lot depends on tolls charged by
LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS the Panama Canal Authority when LNG
Evidently, US refiners can’t process ships transit for the first time after the
it all, hence the storage crisis. Any talk of the US impact on global expanded canal opens in 2016.
energy has to include the US plan to
While there is no real consensus export another type of gas — liquefied The toll level currently proposed
on how much crude the US could end natural gas. is reasonable, but this could rise in the
up exporting, the American Petroleum future to pay for the expansion’s large
Institute has had a good stab at It will have a bigger impact on cost overruns.
working it out. global energy than LPG because LNG is
used to fire power stations, whereas LPG Another issue is the local market
It has estimated that if US crude is used as a feedstock to make plastic for gas in the US, which could impinge
exports were eventually allowed, the and, in some cases, as a vehicle fuel. on export volumes.
US could export on average 2.1m barrels
per day between 2015-2035. The US LNG plan is poised to Around 30 US projects are at
commence at the end of this year various stages of approvals and
Depending on which tankers carry or beginning of next, and the LNG planning, with the Cheniere project at
the cargoes, it would represent a full shipping industry can hardly wait. Sabine Pass in the US Gulf expected to
load for one very large crude carrier start exporting cargoes at the end of
every day, or two suezmaxes a day, or Some 1m tonnes of US LNG is this year or in 2016.
3.5 aframaxes a day. enough cargo for 2.5 ships bound for
Asia, according to gas shipping experts. Canada also has its own LNG
Even without exporting its crude, export ambitions, but is not at an
the US is having a major impact Given that 67m tonnes of LNG per advanced stage, which also goes for
on crude tanker trades, simply by year is likely to be produced from US East Africa.
producing so much crude. projects in the coming years, more than
150 ships will be required to carry these So, while other nations will have
Its high level of production has volumes, they say. an impact on global tanker and gas
pushed Saudi Arabia into a price carrier trades over the coming years,
war with the US, with the Saudis An extra 70m tonnes per year of none can really be said to match the
producing at record levels to force US volumes is possible, requiring even substantial impact that the US is on
smaller US shale producers out of more ships. the brink of having.
business, generating decent cargo
volumes from the Middle East for The likelihood is that around 100m This interesting era of global
VLCCs over the past few months. tonnes per year of LNG will come out of energy can only get more interesting
the US Gulf by 2025. for the shipping industry.
In the meantime, while the US
decides if it wants to be a crude
exporter, it will no doubt continue to
be a major player in the oil products
exporting industry, as well as the
burgeoning condensate export industry
(condensate is very lightly processed
crude and is carried on product
tankers, so does not transgress the ban
on US crude exports).
These two trades will offer growing
future employment opportunities
for product tankers, and growing US
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