Sunday, January 17, 2021

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In Other News

California: utilities are warming they may need to cut power to almost 280,000 homes and businesses to prevent wildfires, Bloomberg. 

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US LNG Exporters --
Near Capacity As Asian Prices Test New Heights -- Rigzone

Link.

Houston — US LNG export terminals were operating near capacity January 11, 2021, as the spot price for deliveries to Northeast Asia approached a staggering $30/MMBtu amid ongoing supply constraints and strong winter demand.

The benchmark S&P Global Platts JKM has soared to a record high from a record low in less than nine months.

The current trend suggests that Asia will remain the top destination for US LNG for months to come, following robust deliveries to the continent in 2020. Three of the top five destinations last year for US LNG, including No. 1 South Korea, are in Asia.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic's impact on demand last summer and widespread cancellations of US cargoes between April and November, total US LNG exports rose by 27% year over year in 2020, with 667 LNG cargoes delivered.

South Korea, the top buyer of US LNG last year, imported 86 US cargoes, a roughly 10% build over 2019. Japan retained its position as the second-largest buyer of US LNG, taking 71 cargoes in 2020, a 31% build from 2019.

Spain was No. 3, followed by the UK at No. 4. China, at No. 5, imported 44 US LNG cargoes in 2020, a 10-fold increase over 2019. While tariffs were still in place, China granted waivers to importers, allowing US deliveries to resume in April 2020 following a 13-month pause.

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Exporting US Shale Boom
Has Changed Oil Forever -- Rigzone

Link. Archived.

The lede:

Bloomberg: Five years ago on New Year’s Eve, the Theo T left the Texas Gulf Coast with the first U.S. shale crude shipment overseas. The oil, gathered from nearby ConocoPhillips wells and sold to trading giant Vitol Group, set sail for Italy just two weeks after lawmakers lifted a long-standing ban on exports. 

It was the start of a trade that would reshape global oil markets, shift geopolitical power and upend entire economies. The shale boom itself has turned the U.S. into the world's largest oil producer and has moved it ever closer to a long-cherished dream of ending dependence on Middle East oil. But the export boom created an entirely new market, sending crude pulled from the shale fields of Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota to more than 50 countries, with shipments often surpassing those of any OPEC nation aside from Saudi Arabia. 

These past five years could very well go down as the best years that U.S. shale oil exporters will ever see. Covid-19 has obliterated global fuel demand and bankrupted more than 40 drillers across America. Exactly how much oil leaves U.S. shores in the coming years will largely depend on how quickly the world can recover from the pandemic and how aggressively politicians work to shift the world away from fossil fuels. But the global reach of U.S. shale has changed oil markets for good and remains a potent, diplomatic weapon for the U.S.