Ukraine war lifts US oil and gas sales to Europe
Tom KirkmanIndependent Project Manager
An interesting take on the Ukraine / Russia mess and increasing exports of U.S. oil and gas to the EU.
(And recall the Nord Stream gas pipeline which got exploded.)
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“For those who are confused why the US has spent tens of billions to keep the Ukraine-Russia war going on and on … here is your answer: as FreightWaves’ Greg Miller reports, the unstated mission of the US military-industrial complex in the lead up and following the Ukraine war,
● was to unseat and replace Russia as the largest source of European energy, both crude and nat gas,
● and in the process push US crude exports to record highs, driven by a surge in European exports.
Indeed, as diplomats convene at the United Nations’ COP 28 climate change summit, fossil fuel production and consumption are hitting new highs, and tanker owners are in prime position to profit from rising trade flows.
The Biden administration is a leading proponent of decarbonization, yet the U.S. is pumping out record volumes of hydrocarbons.
●●●》America is on track to be the world’s largest producer and exporter of natural gas this year, as well as the leading exporter of refined products and liquefied petroleum gas.
… Since the invasion of Ukraine, Europe has hiked its purchases of U.S. crude to help offset banned Russian supply.
According to Kpler data, an average of 1.83 million b/d of U.S. crude flowed to Europe in January-November, up 26% from the 2022 full-year average.
Europe’s share of total U.S. crude exports has risen to 46% this year compared to 37% in 2021, the year prior to the invasion, while Asia’s share is 41%, down from 47% in 2021.
“In volumetric terms, the story has been all about Europe this year,” Reid I’Anson, senior commodity analyst at Kpler, told FreightWaves.
●●●》“Europe continues to grow increasingly reliant on U.S. energy — not just LNG [liquefied natural gas] but across the board.”