Question: Why have Weekly U.S. EXPORTS of Crude Oil doubled since December 2008?

[Up2Late]

Question: Why have Weekly U.S. EXPORTS of Crude Oil doubled since December 2008? And who would it hurt more if the "news" media actually reported this? Could this be contributing to why gasoline priced have stayed so high over the last 3-1/2 years?

Also, could this be another bit of evidence that U.S. Oil Company CEOs, and/or Republican law makers in a position to do such a thing, are deliberately manipulating U.S. Crude Oil Exports to keep the price, per barrel, artificially high in order to hurt President Obama?

Or would the right-wing, Anti-Obama media immediately point to this as "evidence" that the Obama Administration is doing this to keep the price of crude oil and gasoline high in order to push it's "green agenda?" (something I would not want to see happen this close to the election)

I ask because I was just so sick of hearing Romney lie that he will make the U.S. "Energy Independent" if he were elected and was curious to see how much U.S. produced Crude Oil is still being EXPORTED from the U.S., a subject I investigated and watched for several years while GWB was in the White House. I was shocked to find that the amount of U.S. Crude Oil Exports has about DOUBLED since December 26, 2008!!!

Don't believe me? Look at the numbers yourself at the U.S. Energy Information Administration at this link:

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WTTEXUS2&f=W

I say this a Romney bold faced lie because, to actually make the U.S. "Energy Independent" I think the U.S. Government would have to Nationalized ALL production of Crude Oil in the United States (i.e., no more private or shareholder controlled U.S. Oil companies) in order to keep U.S. Crude Oil producers from selling U.S. produced Crude Oil on the world crude oil market to anyone outside the U.S.(a.k.a. exporting oil), something "Free Market" Republicans would NEVER go for and would never allow Romney to do.

Btw, if we are EXPORTING almost 3000x1000 barrels per day, like we did during the week ending June 29, 2012, that's about 3 million barrels, per day, that the U.S. is EXPORTING!!!! WTF!?! (the actual number was 2935 x 1000 = 2,935,000 barrels per day)

Anyway, several questions and hypothetical questions here, Discuss.

[NCarolinawoman]

1. I'd like to know the answer as well.

Thanks for bringing this up.

[julian09]

2. Same will happen with the canadian oil pipeline oil.We are also importing less oil.

and still prices go up. We will be using our refining capacity to refine Canadian oil for the world market. We are short capacity now, a fire in California refinery or gulf huricane will interrupt production. Speculators who do not take delivery on the oil they bid on cause phony shortages and prices go up. Goldman Sach was good at this, what do they need oil for, they are in banking.
They do the same with beef, hogs, grain , etc we got to supply the worlds unending demand creating higher prices.

[Up2Late]

6. I heard today that a fire DID just happen in a California refinery!

And Gasoline prices jumped something like 20 to 40 cents per gallon overnight!

Some retailers are saying they might have to shut down because of it.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/05/162371753/record-high-prices-at-the-gas-pump-likely-to-linger-in-california

[julian09]

7. They aren't very specific about seriousness of mishaps or fire, seems odd.

[RobertEarl]

3. Theory

Last edited Sat Oct 6, 2012, 01:13 AM - Edit history (1)

Due to past oil future contracts (bought low) they can import cheap crude.

And are selling (sell high) American crude on the spot market for today's higher prices.

Heck they could just be flipping the cheaper crude.

And from what I remember about US wells, wells have historically been capped waiting for higher prices.

[DURHAM D]

4. This from the Wall Street Journal today re: natural gas -

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444223104578036403362012318.html

Natural Gas Glut Pushes Exports
By DANIEL GILBERT and TOM FOWLER

Energy companies are racing to export natural gas from the U.S. as they search for more-profitable markets amid a continent-wide gas glut that has depressed prices to the lowest levels in a decade.

A consortium of energy companies said it is moving forward with a project to build an Alaskan natural-gas pipeline to export liquefied natural gas to Asia, at a potential cost of more than $65 billion. Tom Fowler has details on The News Hub. (Photo: Getty Images)
.A consortium including Exxon Mobil Corp., XOM +0.36%ConocoPhillips Co. COP +0.31%and BP BP.LN +0.59%PLC said late Wednesday it is moving forward with plans to export natural gas from Alaska's North Slope in a project that could cost as much as $65 billion. The long-awaited effort is expected to have a significant impact not just on Alaska and its economy, but also on U.S. construction and manufacturing companies that would supply steel and other materials for an 800-mile pipeline and the plant that would convert the gas into liquid for export on tankers.

The Alaska project is the latest sign of the transformation of the U.S. from a heavy energy importer into a major producer and likely exporter. American companies have led the world in discovering how to coax gas and oil from shale rock formations from Ohio to Texas, sending U.S. natural-gas production up 28% between 2005 and 2011, according to U.S. government figures. The new supply of domestic energy rendered an earlier industry plan to move Alaskan gas via pipeline to the continental U.S. unnecessary, according to experts and the companies involved.

more at the link.

[Up2Late]

5. Yeah, I knew something like this was bound to happen with the natural gas....

...can't let it get too cheep, that just wouldn't be profitable enough to let us actually have a break.

[julian09]

8. Too bad they can't find way to export sun or wind.

If they can't sell it they don't want it. That is why they are against renewables. To me the oil in the ground belongs to us just as much as the sun or wind.

[Zalatix]

9. Cutting oil exports drives up food prices in exchange for cheaper oil.

[Up2Late]

10. They haven't cut oil exports at all, they are exporting a LOT more now!

From 1991 to 2006 we exported about 1 million barrels per day, We had a little bump up in 2006, but then it started to rise in December 2008 and has risen, slowly, ever since to 2.5 to 3 million to 3 million barrels PER DAY! Why?

Who is controlling this rise? That's my question. And why is nobody talking about this on any of the news shows?

I'd love to see someone ask Romney this question, point blank, and see how he reacts to it, but I'm sure Carl Rove will find a way to blame President Obama for it.

[Zalatix]

20. Let me rephrase... ATTEMPTING to cut exports with the intent to lower prices

will drive up consumption, which will aggravate the already existing problem of Anthropogenic global warming, which as you've seen this summer has caused a major drought, which has caused food prices to go up.

In a circuitous but clearly measurable way, cheaper gasoline means more expensive food.

Complaining about oil exports is only productive if we're talking about cutting the global use of oil, period. It's killing us. It's fucking up our food security and putting us at risk of famines and starvations, especially overseas. (We might hang on for a few decades longer, big whoop.)

We need to be talking about cutting and eventually ENDING global oil usage, 24/7/365. Not talking about why we're exporting oil.

[LiberalAndProud]

11. Nothing will convince me otherwise.

I believe prices are being manipulated in the hope of affecting the outcome of this election. It hinges on the public's willingness to believe that the President is in a position to do something about it.

Personally, I didn't believe that when Bush was pResident. I don't believe it now.

[Tennessee Gal]

12. Good article on this.

It says that exporting oil is saving jobs and that there is nothing any President can do about this except possibly pressure oil companies through pressure behind the scenes.

As gas prices rise, should US oil industry stop exporting?

US gas prices are soaring and domestic demand is falling. The oil industry says it needs to export to stay in business and avoid layoffs. Others claim that keeps supply low and gas prices high.

~snip~

But, when it comes to oil industry exports of gasoline, there may not be many policy options for Obama unless he wants to start to interfere with the marketplace.

“I don’t think there are any powers the president has that allow him to do that by statute or otherwise,” says Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “I guess behind the scenes he could jawbone the industry to ask them to stop exporting for the good of the nation.”

Mr. Ebinger says the oil industry might want to scale back the exports since “it’s not the best public relations in the world to export when prices are rising at home.”

~snip~

If the exports were not taking place, Ebinger at Brookings says it might be possible to argue the refiners would be flooding the market with gasoline which would reduce prices. “If people knew there was a surplus of gasoline, you might get some entrepreneurs in to sell it at lower prices to stimulate demand,” he says.

But, Felmy says that’s not what would happen. He says if the refiners can’t make money, they will have to mothball their operations and layoff workers. The exports are producing jobs, he says. He points out the Gulf Coast refiners are now producing a record amount of gasoline, thanks to the exports.

~snip~

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0223/As-gas-prices-rise-should-US-oil-industry-stop-exporting

And:

The U.S. Is Now EXPORTING Refined Petroleum Products, But the Oil Companies Are Gaming the System By Switching To a Different Benchmark to Keep U.S. Fuel Prices HIGH … And the Keystone Pipeline Will Create Even HIGHER U.S. Prices

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/05/the-u-s-is-exporting-oil-but-the-oil-companies-have-switched-to-a-different-benchmark-to-keep-u-s-oil-prices-high-and-keystone-will-allowe-even-higher-u-s-prices.html

And:

As Gas Prices Rise, Republicans Once Again Propose Big Oil ‘Solutions’ That Don’t Solve The Problem

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/06/799631/gas-prices-politica/

[Up2Late]

16. Thanks, a lot of good info there!

I'll check out what's at the links to see the rest of what was not posted.

[Spider Jerusalem]

13. The answer to that is that they haven't

the US exports a negligible amount of crude oil. EIA figures are 41,000 barrels a day. See here. The US exports refined product. Refined, more importantly, from oil that was imported in the first place. Total US oil imports amount to 10 MILLION barrels a day. Total US production of crude oil is 6.25 million barrels a day; other liquids (ethanol, natural gas liquids, and refinery gains) account for about another three million barrels or so. The majority of refined product exported, moreover, is diesel (listed by the EIA as "distillate fuel oil&quot ; see here. Which is used for passenger vehicles in many places outside the US, and which is therefore in higher demand outside the US than in it. US average fuel economy has increased, which is part of the reason total US consumption is down, which is also part of the reason that exports of refined products are up; there's nothing sinister about it.

I'm sorry, but you are not reading the data correctly nor are you interpreting it in anything like a reasonable manner.

[Up2Late]

15. OK, I see now, most of the exports are finished petroleum products.

Thanks.

Still that doesn't make the crap Romney has been spewing any less bogus. Because if he is promising to his sheep that he could somehow make it so that we keep all the oil, gas and petroleum products that we make in this country for our own usage, so we can be "energy independent," which I think is what he is telling them, he would have to force all the oil and gas companies in this country to stop selling what they produce to anyone outside the U.S., which we all know just ain't gonna happen.

Or is there another way he could achieve this mythical "energy independents" without nationalizing the Oil Corps?

[Spider Jerusalem]

18. The problem is that most of those exports are from oil that was *imported* in the first place

the US can't be energy independent even if you nationalise the oil companies because the US just doesn't produce enough oil domestically. Ten million barrels a day in imports and about 3 million a day in exports of refined product; the only reason exports are as high as they are is because US consumption has declined from a high of c. 20 million barrels a day to around 17 millon, and the US still has the refinery capacity (which Canada and Mexico, where this oil mostly comes from, don't).

[Spider Jerusalem]

13. Double post, deleted

[B Calm]

17. The USA is one of those countries

who has many plentiful natural resources to exploit. As far as Global industries are concerned, after our natural resources are all gone they'll go find cheaper and more plentiful natural resources some where elsewhere to exploit.

[coldwaterintheface]

19. Remember the Alaskan Pipeline in the 70’s and how it was going to SAVE America

From the evil Saudi Oil Sheiks and make the USA energy independent?

Yeah me too, the reality is very little of that Alaskan Oil ends up in US gas tanks.

[Up2Late]

21. Now that I know why this is happening, it still seems wrong to me

Looks to me like Big Oil is deliberately exporting more fuel to create an artificial shortage in this country, which cause gasoline prices to be too high which is hurting the economy. This should be stopped or at least put into better balance.

[Spider Jerusalem]

22. No, they aren't

this is a shockingly ignorant interpretation. They're not exporting more fuel to create an "artificial shortage"; oil is priced on the world market, and the US imports most of its oil. (Note that it wouldn't necessarily be any cheaper if it weren't exported; they'd just scale back refinery output. Fuel delivery is on a just-in-time basis; they don't keep stockpiles of the stuff in tankers.)

The wholesale, untaxed cost of one gallon of unleaded is about the same in the US and the EU and everywhere that isn't a net oil exporter with a heavily subsidised national oil company. The "oil price" quoted in US financial news is inaccurate, because it's NYMEX crude, which is not the global benchmark; the global benchmark is Brent, which is trading at about $25 a barrel higher than WTI. Oil companies are exporting diesel fuel because there's a demand for it outside the US and the US has the refinery capacity to process it; the combination of increased fuel economy standards and higher fuel prices changing travel patterns have led to a c. 3 million barrel a day fall from peak consumption in the US.

Americans already pay lower prices for fuel than anyone in the developed world. "Hurting the economy"? Taken a look at how the global economy is doing? Not that good anywhere; part of the problem is that economic recovery leads to oil supply constraints and pushes prices inexorably upwards. One of the major and largely unacknowledged factors of the 2008 economic collapse was high oil prices due to the fact that the world market was using pretty much every barrel of oil produced, and there was very little to no slack or production overhead in the system.

[pampango]

23. US auto exports have increased by 60% from 2009 to 2011 and on pace to

rise another 10% in 2012.

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/historical/realexp.pdf

Those exports good? Bad?