Amid an Export Boom, US is Still Importing Natural Gas

SEATTLE (Oil Monster):Turkey’s crude oil imports decreased by 11.2 percent to 2 million tons in October 2018 compared to the same month last year, according to a report released by the country’s energy watchdog yesterday.

The country’s total import of oil products also retreated by 9.5 percent this October to 3.49 million tons compared to October 2017, the Energy Marketing Regulatory Authority (EMRA) said. Production of oil refinery products decreased by 18.5 percent to 2.08 million tons. Also, diesel and gasoline production is down by 18.3 and 18.9 percent, reaching nearly 693 thousand tons and 382 thousand tons, respectively.

In October, total fuel sales fell by 6.7 percent to 2.5 million tons compared to the same month last year.

“It is ironic,’” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. But the “super cheap gas” produced in the nation’s shale fields “is trapped down west of the Mississippi unable to serve its own market,” he said by phone. “The gas is where the people aren’t.”

Meanwhile, the gas being exported out will likely fetch higher prices right now in Europe and Asia. Dominion Energy Inc., which owns the Cove Point terminal, didn’t respond to emailed and telephone requests seeking comment.

Other factors are at play as well. For instance, American providers can’t just ship LNG from shale fields in the south because the giant ships that transport the super-chilled fuel sail under foreign flags. Under the 1920 Jones Act, that means none can legally transport LNG to the Northeast from existing export terminals in Louisiana and Texas.

At the same time, even the vast pipeline network feeding the region can quickly develop bottlenecks at a time when stockpiles are sitting at their lowest levels for this time of year since 2002. While production is soaring, strong demand from more and more U.S. power plants using the fuel, along with new export terminals, soaks up much of that new supply.

Courtesy: www.bostonglobe.com