Opportunities -- December 24, 2015

I think the repeal of the ban on crude oil exports is a much bigger story than I originally thought. If nothing else, it completely frees the entrepreneurs to think about "everything" when it comes to supplying the world with energy from the US.

From RBN Energy this morning:

According to outbound commodity data published by the Corpus Christi Port Authority, volumes of crude and condensate shipped out of Corpus averaged 680,000 bopd between January and November 2015.

That is an amazing five times the average volume shipped in 2012 (136,000 bopd).

According to the Corpus Port Authority data, outbound crude and condensate peaked in August 2014 at 757 Mb/d but was still close to 670 Mb/d in November 2015.

The tea leaves suggest Europe is going to be a huge customer for refined products going forward, and possibly even light oil. Remember, it is opined that Europe will be the only continent that will need to import all the hydrocarbon it uses in the not-too-distant future. From an earlier post:

Europe may be the only continent in the world to depend on imported energy -- EU Council President.

European council president Herman Van Rompuy has voiced concern about Europe's "energy dilemma".

Opening the European business summit in Brussels on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, he said, "It's now becoming clear; eventually Europe may well be the only continent in the world to depend on imported energy.

"Already by 2035 our dependence on oil and gas imports will reach more than 80 per cent.

"This will have an impact on the competitiveness of our companies, and of our economy as a whole."