De ce ezita SUA sa liberalizeze exporturile de gaze si titei catre Europa ?Why Do the USA Hesitate to Liberalize Gas and Oil Exports to Europe?

Relatiile Uniunii Europene cu Rusia devin tot mai tensionate din punct de vedere politic si stau sa explodeze, din punct de vedere economic. Cu toate ca mai sunt doar cateva luni pana la debutul sezonului rece, cand dependenta Europei de importurile de gaze din Rusia devine critica, oficialii de la Bruxelles nu au gasit inca surse alternative de aprovizionare. Sanctiunile economice impuse Rusiei complica situatia si mai mult si, cel mai probabil, Putin asteapta momentul oportun pentru a pune Europa cu botul pe labe. Intre timp, America asteapta si ea. Oare de ce?

Va amintim ca in urma cu circa o luna de zile Uniunea Europeana si-a exprimat dorinta ca Statele Unite ale Americii sa elimine restrictiile la exporturile de gaze naturale si titei, ca parte a negocierilor comerciale aflate in desfasurare.

Documentul de strategie al Executivului UE cerea “un angajament obligatoriu care sa garanteze exportul liber de resurse de titei si gaze naturale”.
Au urmat negocieri intre UE si SUA in cadrul celei de-a sasea runde de discutii privind Parteneriatul Transatlantic pentru Comert si Investitii (TTIP), despre care oficialii sustin ca ar putea valora 100 de miliarde de euro pe an, echivalent cu un plus de 0,5% la PIB-ul UE. Acest acord comercial ar urma sa elimine probabil majoritatea barierelor tarifare inca in vigoare intre cele doua parti, iar valoarea reala intelegerii va consta in armonizarea reglementarilor si in schimbul de materii prime. De atunci incoace nu se mai aude nimic despre aceste discutii. Este cu atat mai important cu cat conflictul din Ucraina escaladeaza cu repeziciune.

Energy-Center a prezentat in exclusivitate, la inceputul acestui an, faptul ca Statele Unite erau deja pregatite sa liberalizeze exportul de gaze si titei catre Europa inainte inca de izbucnirea conflictului ucraineano-rus. Cum se explica acum, in contextul deteriorarii situatiei politice aparenta lipsa de interes a Americii in aceasta problema ? In mod normal, sanctiunile economice impuse Rusiei de catre America (cu efect deosebit asupra companiilor de petrol si gaze din Rusia) ar fi trebuit sa fie urmate imediat de o o deschidere a pietei catre Europa, aflata in mare dificultate pe perioada sezonului rece. Si totusi, nu se intampla nimic.

Prezentam mai jos articolul in care am anuntat intentia americanilor de a liberaliza exporturile de titei si gaze catre Europa.

SUA este cel mai mare producator de petrol din lume conform statisticilor, dupa ce a depasit Arabia Saudita in ultimul trimestru al anului 2013. Aceasta crestere se datoreaza productiei de petrol din ultimii patru ani. Incepand cu anul 2009, productia consta in petrol brut si hidrocarburi lichide, cantitatea extrasa insumand 3,2 milioane de barili pe zi. Revolutia petrolului si gazelor naturale extrase din formatiuni de sist, proces pe care SUA il traverseaza in prezent, se afla la originea acestor cifre, si care anunta schimbari majore in vechile practici care guverneaza comertul international cu petrol.

In al patrulea rand, eliminarea restrictiilor va naste dezbateri aprinse in mediul de afaceri si guvernamental din SUA, intre companiile producatoare si cele din industria rafinarii, in contextul in care legislatia in vigoare face ca petrolul sa se vanda la un pret scazut catre rafinariile americane. In opozitie cu aceasta situatie, exporturile de petrol catre Europa vor favoriza activitatea industriei de rafinare de pe batrandul continent, prin facilitarea accesului la petrol ieftin.
The relations between the European Union and Russia are increasingly tensioned, indeed near the breaking point from the economic perspective. With only months left to the cold season, when Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas becomes critical, the officials in Brussels still haven’t find any alternative supply sources. Economic sanctions against Russia further complicate the situation, and president Putin is waiting most probably for the best timing for payback. Meanwhile, America is also waiting. Why?

Remember that one month ago the EU called for the USA to cancel the restriction to the natural gas and oil exports, as a part of the ongoing trade negotiations.

The strategy paper of the EU Executive asked for a mandatory arrangement guaranteeing the free export of oil and natural gas resources.
The sixth round of negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) followed; experts estimate it to 100 billion euros per year, equivalent to a 0.5 percent increase of EU’s GDP. The agreement would most probably eliminate most of the tariff barriers still standing between the parties, but the real plus from the deal resides in the harmonization of the regulations and in the exchange of raw materials. No news followed these talks, which are all the more important as the conflict in Ukraine is quickly escalating.

Energy-Center has reported exclusively earlier this year the US readiness to liberalize the gas and oil exports to Europe, before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. How is the apparent lack of interest in the matter possible now, with the political situation deteriorating? Normally, America’s economic sanctions against Russia (with a major impact on Russian oil and gas companies) should have been followed immediately by an opening of the market to Europe, where winter brings serious trouble. Nothing happens, however.

Here is our article announcing the American’s intentions of liberalizing gas and oil exports to Europe.

Exclusive: US Ban on Oil Exports Soon to be Lifted?

US are the largest oil supplier in the world after overtaking Saudi Arabia in the last quarter of 2013 according to the last statistics. The production over the last four years accounts for this last amazing increase. The production consists of crude, natural liquid gas, a total oil output of 3.2 million bpd starting with the year 2009. To blame for these incredible numbers is the shale revolution US is undergoing at this very moment and which is triggering a major change in the old-fashioned scheme that governs the international oil trade.
US’s oil is going to change the energy sector dynamics with the last government’s decision to approve licenses to export crude oil to Europe. So far the Department of Commerce allowed four licenses to export oil form US as follows: one license to the UK with a total value of $ 1.8 billion dollars, two licenses to Italy with a total value of $ 3.12 billion, and one to Germany of $ 2.6 billion value.

Legislative framework:

Laws regulating oil exports in the US energy sector go back at the beginning of the 20th century. The Mineral Leasing Act released in 1920 authorizes leasing contracts of public lands encompassing deposits of coal, natural gas, petroleum. Before 1920 these deposits of natural resources were under the provisions of the General Mining Act of 1872. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) released in 1975 is a federal law designed to increase domestic energy supplies and availability, and to prepare measures for possible energy emergencies. According to EPCA’s provisions the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established. Last but not least, the Export Administration Act released in 1979 allows export license permission for reasons of national security, to improve the efficiency of export regulation and to minimize the interference with the ability to engage in commerce. Many controversies revolve around this federal law, which was introduced in the Senate for debates in March 1979 and signed into law by Jimmy Carter, president of the United States at that time, in September.

Institutional network:

The controlling institutions that regulate oil exports in US are at the moment: Export Administration Regulations, part of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), under the authority of the Department of Commerce. BIS was created in 2001 and is an agency that deals with issues involving national security and high technology. Among its main activities include regulating exports of sensitive goods and enforcing export control.

Implications:

This shift in the trading trend is relevant for several aspects. First, it breaks the agreement according to which the Bureau of Industry and Security is revising the export requests under the pressure of large oil companies. Note here that after the oil crisis in 1973-74, the Bureau above-mentioned banned the oil exports except for shipments to Canada, UK (the last export to UK was made in year 2000), and other few exceptions. The goal of this obstructive legislation was to conserve domestic oil reserves and discourage foreign imports. The conditions to be awarded an export license are opaque and qualified as unclear: the export should be made for the national interest of the US, as well as the export will be limited to its complete cease provided that the internal production incurs a decreasing trend. Companies claim that the legislation is not at all encouraging and argue about the lack of transparence in the licenses’ applying process.

Second, the saturated domestic market of cheap oil forces and puts pressure on the government to lift the ban on exports and allow other licenses for large companies in the near future. Much of the country’s rapidly growing production of light crude oil, including lease condensates (i.e., ultra-light oil), comes from either areas where refiners are not interested in or able to process it, given that many U.S. refineries are configured to run lower-quality crude oil, or in parts of the country with inadequate transportation infrastructure. With few viable domestic buyers, producers are forced to choose between leaving oil in the ground and pumping it at depressed prices (see Council on Foreign Relations: The Case for Allowing U.S. Crude Oil Exports: July 2013, http://www.cfr.org/oil/case-allowing-us-crude-oil-exports/p31005).

Third, US will increase consistently its oil revenues provided that the production measures the same rates in the next decade and will benefit of new markets to bring profits of the oil surplus. A ban lift will strengthen the US economy and ensure a proper development for the energy sector. Not only has oil export become a necessity to increase profits, but, on the other hand, US has become over the last years the largest producer of oil by-products, that stands for gasoline and diesel, which count for oil refined products that can be much easily exported under the current federal law, say companies’ spokesmen.

Fourth, lifting the ban will trigger passionate debates in the US business and governmental environment between the companies involved in the oil refining process and those dealing with production, since the present ban makes crude oil extremely cheap for refineries. Conversely, oil exports to Europe will favor the refineries on the old continent enhancing their access to cheaper crude oil.

For a better understanding, here are few of the US oil shale formations which are commercially exploited at present among which we enumerate the most important: Bakken (North Dakota), Marcellus, Huron, Utica (North-East), Barnett (Fort Worth Basin), Haynesville (South).