As U.S. shale energy boom, the once-quiet niche of the American flag tankers in unprecedented flux.
Usually carry gasoline to Florida a half-dozen boats along the Texas coast are now rushing to crude oil. Corpus Christi, now exports all Eagle Ford shale oil for more than half the major investment proposals in the port for more than a new pipeline project is expected to further changes in the market.
Shale oil revolution, now entering its third year, has scrambled inland U.S. crude oil market, forcing the pipeline to reverse direction and fuel rail oil trade revival.
Since the beginning of this year, the U.S. tanker industry has jumped into the behavior of traders, including BP (BP.L: Quote) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) racing charter a handful of three dozen American flag tankers every century old law known as the "Jones Act" which allows for oil between U.S. ports.
Trading is to help Gulf Coast refiners Valero (VLO.N) such as import crude oil for cutting costs and plant weaned off.
Cristobal's, Director of Business Development, Greenwich, Conn., ship brokers Charles Webb Co. says it's the first time the Jones Act, "the 20 years he has worked in the shipping market has been clearly profitable.
"Into the cost and duration of contracts, etc., any business is a leap of faith," he said. Jones Act trade and investment need to hire expensive union workers used boats will not be guaranteed to find a lamp.
"Nobody wants to deal in the United States, because there is no oil."
Shale oil, a sudden change, especially in the south Texas Eagle Ford, which yields more than three years from near zero expansion 500,000 barrels per day. Unlike the inland North Dakota Bakken, the field is less than 100 miles of the Gulf of Mexico and "refinery row", located in Texas, Louisiana coastline along.
Although the market has largely adapt to changes in the pattern of inland trade, flux oil tankers is still evolving. Each new threat to rewrite the main train station or pipeline economics seaborne trade limited tanker supply and higher interest rates are squeezing traditional routes, such as ship fuel to Florida.
Since February, from a walking route from the loading of crude oil hub of Houston and Corpus Christi in the eastern Gulf Coast Beaumont, Texas and Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) and other ports, the number of ships has risen to 6. Those boats daily prices over the past year, up 50 per cent of historic highs, Crowley Maritime Corporation and Overseas Shipholding Group (OSGIQ.PK) carriers, such as increased profits.
While the eastern Gulf Coast refining centers, mobile west Texas oil pipeline capacity is limited, the region has been largely dependent on imports. Port of Corpus Christi has shipped more than 340,000 barrels per day soared to close to zero, Eagle Ford, more than half of the total output in the past year. Two-thirds of the oil remains in the Gulf region, most of the rest went to Canada, shipping data show.
Jones Act ": Now so hot
"Jones Act" requires ship between U.S. ports are US-owned, US-made, and the American manned, making them more than three times more expensive foreign flag vessels. Jones Act tankers and coastal barges large majority in the use of refined products such as gasoline, from the Gulf Coast of Florida, which is far from the center of the refinery and not connected to any pipeline.
Less than 40 ocean-going oil tankers to carry 235,000 barrels or more small articulated tanker barges and 11 make up the rest of the Alaska trade top 300 coastal fleet.
Jones Act tankers and barges Africa and Alaska trade order, but it will not be delivered until 2015, the new tonnage. This is partly due to the backlog of some commercial shipyards in the United States, including the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (AKPS.OL) and General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego (GD.N).
Competitive charter Limited supplies traders, and the percentage of long-term charter vessels has grown from about 20% to 100% in the past year.
330,000 barrels of medium-range tankers in the Gulf Coast for trade in price from $ 45,000 up to $ 75,000 a day or so, another $ 25,000 per day, while the ship is in transit does not include fuel costs, ship brokerage representation.
The price is so high, "the most profitable areas, is now the Jones Act tanker owners relet out and transported by barge to Florida gasoline in Stamford, Conn.-based shipbroker's research director, said MJLF : "Donald Bogden.
When a tanker and in the spot market development or sublease, the day rate can reach $ 100,000 before refueling, brokers said. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) payments, close to the historical record, and in June in the United States Phoenix sublease, the shipping brokers said.
"Because in the U.S. crude oil market dynamics, these vessels are designed to move petroleum products have been trading crude oil," said Basil Karatzas, marine Karatzas consultant CEO, shipping finance company, headquartered in New York.
"This is the main reason, the Jones Act tanker market is now so hot."
Switch Gear
Jones Act traffic has rapidly switch from short Gulf Coast cabotage trade as the profit opportunities to subvert expectations last year, the ship carrying the east coast of Florida, Texas oil refineries or gasoline.
"This shows that (the western Gulf Coast region) is the most serious bottleneck in the moment," said Julius Walker, UBS in New York, the global energy market strategy.
Through the six months ended June 6, the Jones Act vessel movements over 22.5 million barrels of oil, Houston and Corpus Christi port near Gulf Coast refineries around about 4.6 million yuan in the six months earlier, according to the calculations Reuters based on historical ship tracks.
Corpus Christi, which takes a lot of Eagle Ford crude oil, the Netherlands, Texas refinery, which takes about one week trip.
Containing 340,000 barrels of the time, overseas Texas City, chartering by the Jones Act BP, 18 people in the 180-day period from Reuters analysis, providing more than 615 million barrels. When the BP tanker sublease from ConocoPhillips (COP.N) in January 2013, it has hosted refined products, or "clean" fuels, to Florida, vessel tracking data show.
Three Gulf Coast crude oil trading ship sailing charter Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, brokers said. The company declined to comment.
In the daily rate of $ 75,000, it costs about $ 2 per barrel of oil central western Gulf Coast, as in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, or circulatory transport crude oil, according to Reuters calculations.
FLUX AHEAD
Rapid construction of the infrastructure of the future more changes, indicating that the Gulf Coast shipping. If more fuel tankers carrying oil to Florida switch, it may have to import gasoline. Countries have already purchased a jet fuel, diesel and ethanol in countries such as Venezuela, South Korea and the Netherlands.
Port of Corpus Christi, meanwhile, in a multi-year expansion, which will add eight pier June 2014 and 10 million barrels of crude oil storage tankers, 33% of the increase to the current 27, which means greater maritime business plans.
However, some refineries in Eagle Ford crude oil tankers may soon have a cheaper option. The end of 2013, crude oil pipeline reversal, from Houston to Houma, Louisiana, eastern Gulf of Mexico will pump 250,000 barrels a low 59 cents a barrel to rate.
This capability will alleviate some of the maritime traffic, but Houston refinery receives a large number of shale oil from the Midwest, Eagle Ford will probably still need seaborne oil exports.
"Crude oil production growth has been far beyond anyone's expectation, the infrastructure is not there to deal with it," said Andrew Weissman, a law firm in Washington, DC, Haynes and Boone, senior energy adviser
 



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