Shale oil growth to overwhelm U.S. refiners, fuel exports: study

March 5, 2018

Rising U.S. shale oil production will overwhelm the nation's refining capacity, with three-quarters of the additional oil produced in the United States by 2023 shipped to Europe and Asia, according to a new study by consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

The research points to the continued impact of U.S. shale on global markets and the mismatch between domestic refining capacity and rising crude output. The oil could bottleneck at U.S. Gulf Coast ports unless new infrastructure is built, researchers said.

U.S. refineries will absorb between 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 1 million bpd of the expected 4 million bpd of additional production to emerge from U.S. oil fields, Wood Mackenzie said in a study released on Monday.

That will leave three-quarters of the additional crude and ultra-light oil known as condensate destined for non-U.S. buyers in the next five years, the researchers said. The oil will vie with Middle East and African crudes in world markets, they said.

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