EIA

How low Rhine water levels disrupt petroleum shipments to Europe

Historically low water levels on the Rhine River have resulted in transportation disruptions for shipments of petroleum products by barge, which in turn have resulted in higher freight costs and higher prices in markets upriver, such as in southern Germany, EIA informed. These disruptions are occurring in a major petroleum product transportation corridor at the period when markets along the Rhine River typically build inventories of distillate fuel for space heating ahead of the winter.

Tanker...

https://safety4sea.com/how-low-rhine-water-levels-disrupt-petroleum-shipments-to-europe/

Iran exports of crude oil dropped since sanctions announcement

Iran’s crude oil exports and production have declined since the May 2018 announcement by the United States that it would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reinstate sanctions against Iran, according to EIA.

On 6 August 2018, the first wind-down period ended and triggered the re-imposition of some sanctions. On 4 November 2018, the second wind-down period will end and trigger the re-imposition of full sanctions, including a number of measures that target Iran’s...

https://safety4sea.com/iran-exports-of-crude-oil-dropped-since-sanctions-announcement/

EIA: Europe’s LNG imports increased

Imports of LNG to the EU averaged 5.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017, increasing for the third year in a row. However, it remained below their 2011 peak, EIA informed.

In 2017, imports of LNG into EU accounted for 13% of the global total. LNG import capacity in EU currently stands at 20 Bcf/d, or almost one-fifth of the global total.

Nevertheless, the use of EU’s LNG import facilities has fell from about 50% in 2010 to between 20% and 25% in recent years as expansions in...

https://safety4sea.com/eia-europes-lng-imports-increased/

Crude oil price forecasts uncertain amid Iran sanctions

EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts Brent crude oil spot prices, which averaged $79 per barrel in September, to average $81/b in the fourth quarter of 2018, before falling to an average of $75/b in 2019. However, the effects of the US withdrawal from JCPOA, the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran, and the potential response from members of the OPEC pose significant uncertainty to the forecast.

EIA forecasts Brent crude oil prices to average $81/b in the fourth quarter of 2018,...

https://safety4sea.com/crude-oil-price-forecasts-uncertain-amid-iran-sanctions/

Crude oil imports lead the changing US energy trade

During the past decade, the US trade gap for energy products has narrowed, as from 2003 to 2007, the value of energy imports was about 10 times greater than the value of exports, US EIA informed. By 2017, imports were only about 1.5 times greater than exports, according to data from the US Census Bureau.

The primary US energy import is crude oil, which generally accounts for about two-thirds of the total value of energy imports. Petroleum products—including LPG, gasoline, and diesel fuels—are...

https://safety4sea.com/crude-oil-imports-lead-the-changing-us-energy-trade/

EIA: US manufacturers’ ability to switch fuels decline

According to EIA’s 2014 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), the capability of the US manufacturing sector to switch the fuels it uses has declined in recent decades.

Namely, among the most commonly substitutable fuels used in US manufacturing, the amount that could be switched in less than 30 days dropped from 24% in 1994 to 10% in 2014. This leave manufacturers less able to respond to changes in regulations and market conditions.

In 2014, the main reason for not being able to switch...

https://safety4sea.com/eia-us-manufacturers-ability-to-switch-fuels-decline/

EIA: Natural gas pipeline rupture in Canada affects US energy markets

The rupture of Enbridge’s BC natural gas pipeline near Prince George, British Columbia, on 9 October 2018, continues to affect natural gas supply, electricity generation, and petroleum refining in the US Pacific Northwest, according to US EIA.

The BC Pipeline links natural gas production in northeastern British Columbia with distribution markets in Canada as well as Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Imports of natural gas through the pipeline, which in the first half of the year averaged 1.1...

https://safety4sea.com/eia-natural-gas-pipeline-rupture-in-canada-affects-us-energy-markets/

EIA: US increases production of lighter crude oil

As domestic production continues to increase, the average density of crude oil that the US produces continues to become lighter. The average API gravity (a measure of a crude oil’s density where higher numbers mean lower density) of US crude oil increased in 2017 and through the first half of 2018, EIA reports.

Crude oil production with an API gravity greater than 40 degrees increased by 310,000 barrels per day to more than 4.6 million b/d in 2017. This increase indicates 53% of total Lower 48...

https://safety4sea.com/eia-us-increases-production-of-lighter-crude-oil/

EIA: US natural gas supply and demand increased in 2018

In the first half of 2018, US natural gas supply and demand grew significantly compared to the first half of 2017. Natural gas consumption and exports averaged 93.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) during the first half of 2018, or 12% greater than during the first half of 2017, according to EIA’s Natural Gas Monthly.

Meanwhile, total supply of US natural gas, including domestic production, imports, and storage withdrawals, averaged 93.3 Bcf/d during the first half of 2018, a 12% increase from...

https://safety4sea.com/eia-us-natural-gas-supply-and-demand-increased-in-2018/

US natural gas exports in Q1 2018 more than double the 2017 average

From January through June 2018, net natural gas exports from the United States averaged 0.87 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), more than double the average daily net exports during all of 2017 (0.34 Bcf/d), according to EIA.

The United States, which became a net natural gas exporter on an annual basis in 2017 for the first time in almost 60 years, has continued to export more natural gas than it imports for five of the first six months in 2018.

US natural gas exports have increased primarily...

https://safety4sea.com/us-natural-gas-exports-in-q1-2018-more-than-double-the-2017-average/

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