Update On The Pennsylvania Laurel Pipeline -- April 20, 2018

Updates

Later, 3:52 p.m. CT: this is pretty funny. Earlier today, I guess about 7:20 a.m. I wrote the following note (below the screenshot) about the "coolest tweet so far today." I thought it was a somewhat ridiculous item and considered deleting it, but there wasn't much else going on, so I left it alone. My thought was this: if President Trump feels that the high price of oil/gasoline could threaten his presidency/re-election, he would take steps to increase US production. LOL. Now this headline from oilprice.com (link here): 

Original Post

Coolest tweet so far today: President Trump says oil prices are "too high" and blames OPEC. I don't suppose Trump can do much about OPEC. Some say he can affect the price of oil with his actions in the Mideast (think sanctions on Iran). Perhaps, but having said that, this was my immediate thought: there's been a lot of talk recently about the possibility of a recession in 2019. Oil at $100 / bbl could certainly make that possibility more likely. Something tells me President Trump would prefer not to end his first (last?) term with the US in recession. If he thinks the price of oil could be a problem for the US economy, my hunch he will do what he can to support the US oil and gas sector. I don't think he can actually do much, but his administration certainly won't do anything to slow the oil and gas sector. In the big scheme of things, all this talk is probably a "wash," but it pleases me that the president is talking about this rather than talking about sports.

By the way, speaking of global supply of oil. Two things just off the radar scope: a) Libya looks to be in trouble again; b) the already-horrendous situation in Venezuela is apparently getting worse. Oil workers are said to be fleeing the sector under the military officer that has just been appointed to run Venezuela's oil sector.

SLB: earnings in line. SLB's first-quarter earnings almost doubled; soared 90% to 38 cents/share with revenue up almost 14% to just under $8 billion. North American revenue jumped 52% year-over-year while international revenue dipped slightly (think Russia?).

Making America great again: China catches "new wave" of ethane cracker projects. Will use US shale natural gas as feedstock. US shale gas. Link over at Rigzone.

[The] scope of work includes a process design package, heater engineering and technology license for two ethylene plants, each with a 1,250-kiloton per annum capacity, at Lianyungang’s petrochemical facility in China’s Jiangsu province.

According to CB&I, the ethylene plants will be the first such facilities in China that crack 100 percent ethane feed. The company explained that having this capability will represent a “new wave” of ethylene projects fed by U.S.-sourced shale gas.

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RBN Energy: Buckeye Partners' revised plan for the Laurel pipeline.

For a couple of years now, Buckeye Partners has been working to advance a controversial plan to reverse the western half of its Laurel refined-products pipeline in Pennsylvania to allow motor gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to flow east from Midwest refineries into the central part of the Keystone State. Some East Coast refineries that have relied on Laurel for 60 years to pipe their refined products as far west as Pittsburgh have been fighting Buckeye’s plan tooth and nail, arguing that it would hurt their businesses and hurt competition in western Pennsylvania gas and diesel markets — and refined-product retailers in the Pittsburgh area agree.

Now, after a state administrative law judge’s recommendation that Pennsylvania regulators reject Buckeye’s plan, Buckeye has proposed an alternative: making the western half of the Laurel Pipeline bi-directional, which would allow both eastbound and westbound flows. Today, we consider the latest plan for an important refined-products pipe and how it may affect Mid-Atlantic and Midwest refineries.