China Slams Breaks On US Crude Oil Imports

This is not necessarily new news but noteworthy nonetheless. I attended an energy industry conference earlier this week on the Permian Basin (RBN’s “Permicon” conference in Houston – very well done and equally well attended). Among the topics was what several speakers dubbed the “wellhead to water” strategy, which refers to a strategy for participating in the energy value chain from the wellhead to the water – the latter referring to crude oil, natural gas (as LNG) and NGLs (as LPGs) being exported from the US via tanker ship to various overseas market destinations. What wasn’t discussed very much at the conference was the recent pullback by Chinese companies (most notably PetroChina and Sinopec) in purchasing/importing these US-produced energy commodities and where they will go instead. Those who wish to participate in the US “wellhead to water” value chain would be well-served to think about where these energy commodities will land once they hit the water as all export market destinations and the routes to get there are not created equal. It matters a lot what the logistics costs are for seaborne tanker voyages to move these energy commodities “on the water” to whichever import markets they wind up going to. hashtag#energyhashtag#marketinghashtag#shippinghashtag#exporthashtag#import