Page 10: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Q4 2013)

Energy & ShippingWith ?America?s Energy Renaissance? oil trade patterns are changing. The impact is far reaching, but not easily de Þ ned. By Barry ParkerInsightsShip spotters around the Hudson River, which snakes north from New York towards Albany, have been abuzz since the middle of the year when the medium range (MR) tanker Afrodite, owned by Tsakos Energy Navigation, has been sighted regularly. The 2005-built 53,000 deadweight vessel commenced a two-year charter to Irving Oil, at a rate of $16,000/day, topped off by a proÞ t-split. The Afrodite, along with a sister vessel, are hauling crude oil produced in the Bak- ken Þ elds, in North Dakota. Since U.S. producers are not per- mitted to export crude oil, the limited quantities sent to Canada are one exception granted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, around Corpus Christi /Aransas, the seascape there has also changed; tanker watchers have seen hordes of vessels lining up, waiting their turn to load cargoes of reÞ ned products destined for Europe and South America. As pipeline expansions and re-routings bring crude oil into Corpus and Houston, inbound capacity grew by nearly 1.5 Mbd in 2012 and 2013, according to RBN Consulting, based in Houston. These consultants anticipate a further growth of 1.9 Mbd in 2014 Ð 2015, much coming from the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins in Texas. Symptomatic of all the optimism is a move by oil trader TraÞ gura, which recently announced plans to spend $500 mil- lion to increase capacity at its export docks at Corpus Christi, in conjunction with the conversion of a gas pipeline by Energy Transfer Partners that will move 100 Kbd to the port from Eagle Ford Ð some 80 miles inland. Game ChangerWords like Ògame changer,Ó Òtectonic shiftÓ and Ònew para- digmÓ hav e all been applied to developments that were un- derway, albeit under the radar, in late 2009, as energy prices ratcheted upwards, following the Þ nancial upheavals of a year earlier. Simply put, at sustained oil prices above $80/barrel, recently Þ ne-tuned hydraulic fracturing technologies and en- hanced horizontal drilling capabilities have enabled extraction of oil and gas from ÒtightÓ rock formations including shale. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) said, in a report re- leased in mid November, ÒU.S. crude oil production averaged 7.7 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in October. Monthly esti- mated domestic crude oil production exceeded crude oil im- ports in October for the Þ rst time since February 1995, while total petroleum net imports were the lowest since February (Source: Tanker ?AFRODITE? by Christina Sun) Medium range tanker Afrodite has created a buzz, as it has been sighted regularly along the Hudson River. What?s the excitement for a 2005-built 53,000 dwt ship? It has com- menced a two-year charter to Irving Oil, at a rate of $16,000/day, topped off by a pro t-split, hauling crude oil produced in the Bakken  elds, in North Dakota. 10 I Maritime Professional I 4Q 2013MP #4 1-17.indd 10MP #4 1-17.indd 1012/11/2013 4:37:35 PM12/11/2013 4:37:35 PM