https://mailchi.mp/americanenergyalliance.org/a-far-cry-from-the-70s?e=02e2394a9b
Reuters (4/1/26) reports: “U.S. refined products exports hit a record high in March as the Iran war left Europe, Asia and Africa scrambling to fill supply shortfalls created by the near-complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been disrupting shipping in the strait, through which oil and fuel exports flow that represent a fifth of global consumption.
The loss of these supplies has forced production cuts at plants in those regions, causing price spikes and threatening an economic slowdown. U.S. exports of clean petroleum products, which include gasoline, naphtha, diesel and jet fuel, hit about 3.11 million barrels per day in March, up from about 2.5 million bpd in February, data from vessel-tracking service Kpler showed. That is the highest monthly level in Kpler records going back to 2017.
U.S. fuel exports to Europe rose nearly 27% month-over-month to 414,000 bpd in March, while exports to Asia more than doubled to 224,000 bpd, the Kpler data showed. Exports to Africa surged 169% to 148,000 bpd, the data showed…U.S. refiners last month shipped a record amount of fuel on routes rarely used before, such as from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Australia, and even U.S. markets that themselves are reliant on imports shipped fuel out to Europe and elsewhere…For fuel exporters, the decision to keep fuel in the country or ship it to buyers elsewhere boils down to margins. While U.S. fuel prices have surged, they are not yet at demand-destroying levels, Kpler’s Smith said.”
