Export News

As U.S. shale oil boomed last decade, an oil pipeline company pitched an ambitious multi-billion-dollar export port off the Texas coast to ship domestic crude to buyers in Europe and Asia.In April, Enterprise Products Partners' SPOT became the first project to receive a license from the U.S. maritime regulator for a deepwater port that could load two supertankers, each of which can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil at a time.But multi-year regulatory delays, a loss of commercial backers and slowing U.S.

“Wind Turbines: The Bigger, the Better” -USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, August 24, 2023Last December the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed sale notice regarding new development areas for utility scale wind projects in the central Atlantic Ocean. The notice includes an upfront issue: the need to mitigate conflicts with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) activities. BOEM explains that in certain areas the Air Force has set an airspace floor of 1,000 feet above sea level and the Air Force asked BOEM to keep structures below that height.

The port of Corpus Christi, Texas, the top U.S. oil export hub, said it exported 6.40 million barrels per day of crude oil in the first quarter, up 6.9% from the same period a year ago.The U.S. Gulf Coast port handles more than half the nation's oil exports, benefiting from its pipeline ties to South and West Texas shale fields. Its volumes have risen along with shale oil production.Overall, the port has moved nearly 48.9 million metric tons of goods through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in the first quarter.

Venezuela's loss of a key U.S. license that allowed it to freely export and increase investment in its oil sector will hit the volume and quality of its crude and fuel sales while prompting a flurry of requests for individual U.S deal authorizations.U.S. officials had warned that absent progress by President Nicolas Maduro on implementing an electoral roadmap agreed last year, the U.S. would not renew license 44, which since October had eased oil sanctions in place for the last five years.On Wednesday…

The United States has launched an investigation into alleged unfair practices within China's shipbuilding and maritime industries, drawing ire from Chinese officials.The probe was launched Wednesday by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in response to a petition filed by five national labor unions accusing China of using "non-market policies that are far more aggressive and interventionist than any other country" to obtain dominance over the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sector."The American commercial shipbuilding industry is a shell of its former self. . .

Tanker shipping company Stena Bulk on Thursday announced the sale of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier vessel Stena Blue Sky to an undisclosed Asian buyer.The sale of Stena Blue Sky follows the recent announcement that Stena Bulk had sold two LNG carriers to BW LNG.The successful transfer of Stena Blue Sky has already taken place. The vessel was delivered on April 18 in Singapore.Originally built in 2006 by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea, Stena Blue Sky has a carrying capacity 145…

An open letter has called on Australia’s Albanese Government to deliver on its election promise and legislate an end to live sheep export.The call, from the RSPCA and 10 other Australian animal protection organisations, comes nearly six months after the independent panel’s report was delivered to the Government — with still no plan for how and when live sheep export will be phased out.“Australians were relieved when the Albanese Government took this promise to the 2022 federal election,” said RSPCA Australia CEO Richard Mussell.

Offshore installation contractor Allseas has made progress on the installation of the pipeline for Santos’ Barossa Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) project offshore Australia.Allseas’ Audacia pipelay vessel has installed her largest ever PLET in S-mode, concluding several years of in-house engineering, fabrication and testing, the Swiss-based contractor said.Due to the weight of the pipeline end termination structure, Allseas’ production crew had to install it separately to the connector head.Audacia vessels is being supported with four other vessels - Fortitude…

Provaris Energy and Norwegian Hydrogen AS have announced a new agreement to jointly progress the identification and development of several sites in the Nordic region for the large-scale production and export of hydrogen to European markets.The projects will utilize locally available renewable energy to produce hydrogen for shipment to European ports. This will assist energy-intensive industries in making an impact on their decarbonization plans and target a scale and level of…

Russia's seaborne oil product exports fell 4.2% in March from the previous month to 10.178 million metric tons due to unplanned maintenance at refineries and a uel export ban, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed.Russia's daily offline primary oil refining capacity has jumped by around a third in March to 4.079 million metric tons from February due to drone attacks, Reuters calculations based on data from industry sources showed.Last month, a fire broke out after a Ukrainian drone attack at the Norsi refinery…

Chinese automakers and shippers are ordering a record number of car-carrying vessels to support a boom in EV exports, data showed, putting China on course to amass the world's fourth-largest fleet by 2028.China currently has the world's eighth-largest fleet with 33 car-carrying ships, showed data from shipping consultancy Veson Nautical. Japan has the world's largest with 283 ships, followed by Norway's 102, South Korea's 72 and Isle of Man's 61.But Chinese companies have 47 ships on order, accounting for a quarter of all orders globally.

Enterprise Products Partners said on Tuesday it had received a deepwater port license for its Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) in the Gulf of Mexico from an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.The project, located near Freeport, Texas, would become the biggest offshore oil export terminal in the U.S. after completion with a capacity to load two supertankers at a time and export 2 million barrels of crude oil per day."The receipt of the license is the most significant milestone to date in the development and commercialization of SPOT…

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has ordered eight new ships, the most comprehensive newbuild order in its history.The order represents nearly 25,000 additional berths, with new classes of ships for each of its three brands and the construction of a multi-ship pier at Great Stirrup Cay, the company’s private island destination in the Bahamas.The new ships are scheduled for delivery over a 10-year period, between 2026 and 2036. Following the delivery of four Prima-Plus class ships from 2025 through 2028…

Ukrainian agricultural group Kernel has expanded its sea fleet and can now export 100,000 metric tons of grain per month by ship, it said on Thursday.Ukraine usually exports 95% of its farm exports via Black Sea ports and Ukraine's own ships can ensure exports even in the face of military dangers associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Kernel, the leading Ukrainian sunoil exporter, has purchased the Rotterdam Pearl V vessel, which can transport 50,000 tons of grain, it posted on Facebook.The company said its fleet had been transporting Ukrainian exports to the Mediterranean and North-East

South African animal welfare organization NSPCA has applauded a Judgment from the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, Makhanda, affirming the NSPCA’s ability to screen all animals being readied for loading on the Al Messilah livestock carrier which docked in the East London Harbour on April 2.The exporter, Al Mawashi, working through Page Farming Company, made an application in the High Court on March 29 designed to prevent the NSPCA from marking compromised animals to prevent them from being loaded and to stop NSPCA from screening for pregnant ewes.“Al Mawashi…

Ammonia-to-power solutions provider Amogy announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan-based global trading and import/export company ITOCHU Corporation to explore the potential application of Amogy’s technology on ITOCHU’s maritime vessels.Amogy has developed a modularized system that transforms liquid ammonia into electrical power. This innovative technology involves “cracking” liquid ammonia into its base elements of hydrogen and nitrogen. The hydrogen is then funneled into a fuel cell for efficient generation of electricity onboard a vessel.

Between January 2023 and February 2024, TDI-Brooks conducted an extensive site investigation program in two offshore wind blocks in state and federal waters. The projects involved surveying in excess of 20,000 line-kms of analogue and either single or multi-channel seismic in lease blocks and cable routes along the coasts of New York and New Jersey. Various tasks were carried out at different stages, such as offshore geophysical surveys, UHRS detailed surveys, archaeological identification surveys…

Australia’s Department of Agriculture (DAFF) has stated that testing has returned negative results for Lumpy Skin Disease and Foot and Mouth Disease, after over 150 cattle died on a voyage to Indonesia on Vroon’s Brahman Express.Australia has received confirmation from the Indonesian authorities that the export of live cattle from a particular registered establishment in the Northern Territory has been suspended pending further investigations to determine the cause of the deaths.The department continues to investigate…

A Ukrainian missile attack struck a Russian naval reconnaissance vessel and a large landing warship that Moscow captured from Kyiv during the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Ukraine's navy said on Tuesday.Ukraine hit the vessels during an attack on Crimea at the weekend, the navy said.

Over 100 cattle have died after departing Australia on the Brahman Express. The vessel, built in 2002 and operated by Vroon, was destined for Indonesia.This is one of the highest mortality rates reported on an Australian short haul cattle shipment, states Vets Against Live Export in a blog, which notes that the mortality rate of 7.69% on the GL Kaihou’s maiden voyage in 2017 is still likely to be higher. On the GL Kaihou, 95 cattle died after the vessel’s non-slip flooring was found to be ineffective.The Australian Department of Agriculture (DAFF) stated that…

Constant attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports by Russian drones and missiles are leading to a slowdown in Ukraine's maritime agricultural exports, brokers said on Wednesday.A key maritime hub in the southern Odesa region has been under almost daily attacks in recent weeks, but authorities have not reported any significant damage to port infrastructure."Active shelling of Ukraine, particularly in the south, by Russia last week led to interruptions in export shipments and a slowdown in waterborne exports…

The German animal welfare organization Animal Welfare Foundation and the French environmental organization Robin des Bois have published a report on the safety risks associated with livestock carriers trading from the European Union. This snapshot of the fleet follows one produced by the organizations three years ago.Currently, 64 livestock carriers are permitted to load European animals on EU-ports to then export them to third countries. The report states that nearly half of…

Asia's imports of crude oil are expected to rise to the highest in 10 months as heavyweights China and India lifted arrivals from Russia, but impending maintenance schedules and rising prices mean such levels may not be sustained.The world's top importing region is forecast to see arrivals of 27.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, up from 26.70 million bpd in February and January's 27.18 million bpd, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.The bulk of oil arriving in March was arranged before the current increase in prices…