A year of war in Ukraine is revitalizing U.S. oil exports as a source of financial influence and geopolitical power.
As the West has shunned most Russian energy, unleashing a pressure campaign against the Kremlin’s petroleum revenues, record U.S. crude exports have helped fill the gap in Europe with the oil needed to produce gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, average monthly seaborne cargoes to the continent jumped 38% compared with the previous 12-month period, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. A fleet of skyscraper-size tankers carried more crude to Germany, France and Italy—the European Union’s largest economies—as well as Spain, which alone boosted purchases by about 88% over the period.
The pull of oil shipments from the Gulf Coast to Europe, which Kpler pegged at 1.53 million barrels a day in January, has in recent months made the continent a larger destination for U.S. crude than Asia.
The growth in exports marks the latest milestone in the revival of U.S. oil production after years of dwindling market clout. Petroleum exports supported Allied countries during both world wars, but output then slid, along with the country’s sway over global markets.
Now, the shale boom in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling has made the U.S. a major producer again, tapping gushers of fossil fuels ready for delivery to destinations opened by the Ukraine conflict.
U.S. natural gas shipments to Europe more than doubled last year, according to the White House, cushioning the continent’s households and manufacturers after Russia throttled supplies. Analysts say surging U.S. crude production helped to calm markets as the West restricted most Russian exports with bans and novel price caps in recent months.
“America is back in the most predominant position it has been in world energy since the 1950s,” said Daniel Yergin, an energy historian and vice chairman of S&P Global. “U.S. energy now is becoming one of the foundations of European energy security.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-re...r-enters-second-year-2b910ff?mod=hp_lead_pos8
grazie Vlad