Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/270289
Fuel Factoid By Tom Kelley 48 // OWNER OPERATOR // MARCH 2014 T he Americas, which include North America, Central America, the Ca- ribbean, and South America, ac- count for a significant portion of global sup- ply, demand, and trade of both liquid fuels and natural gas, according to Liquid Fuels and Natural Gas in the Americas, released recently by the U.S. Energy Information Ad- ministration. The report examines the energy trends and developments in the Americas over the past decade and focuses on liquid fuels and natu- ral gas—particularly reserves and resources, production, consumption, trade, and invest- ment—given their scale and significance to the region. While the report considers the re- gion as a whole and its relationships with the rest of the world, it also discusses the prin- cipal energy-producing and consuming coun- tries individually, based on available energy statistics. Major conclusions of the report include: In 2012, the countries of the Americas were the world's second-leading producer and con- sumer of liquid fuels, and leading producer and consumer of natural gas. Estimates of the region's reserves and resources indicate that the Americas will continue to increase pro- duction and consumption of liquid fuels and natural gas in the future. Intra-American crude oil and petroleum products trade accounted for most of the total trade in the region. From 2003 to 2012, U.S. imports of crude oil from other countries in the region—pri- marily from Canada, Mexico, and Venezu- ela—averaged 5.01 million barrels of oil per day (bbl/d). These quantities are shifting as U.S. production continues to increase, and increased exports to China and India have started to offset decreasing U.S. imports. The United States has become a net export- er of petroleum products, exporting 2.0 mil- lion bbl/d to countries in the region (primarily Mexico and Canada) in 2012 compared to 0.6 million bbl/d in 2003 Future extraction, development, and com- mercialization of hydrocarbon resources in the Americas will be significantly influenced by national policies towards foreign invest- ment. Mexico, which recently adopted new energy reforms to allow foreign private in- vestment in the energy sector, will look to join countries with open investment struc- tures, like Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and the United States. Asian investment in the region has greatly increased over the past five years, particularly investment by Chinese national oil compa- nies in both crude oil supplies and physical assets, such as refineries. The Americas accounted for 20% of global natural gas trade, with imports and exports each totaling 6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). More than 80% of natural gas trade was via pipeline to neighboring countries, with the remainder traded as liquefied natural gas (LNG). EIA expects natural gas exports from the Ameri- cas to increase as natural gas production increases, particularly in the United States. Additional LNG export terminals, along with the ongoing Panama Canal expansion, will facilitate these exports. The full report, Liquid Fuels and Natu- ral Gas in the Americas, is available at: http://www.eia.gov/countries/americas/ OO The Americas Are an Important Market for Liquid fuels and Natural Gas Trade 0314 fuel factoid oo.indd 1 2/6/14 3:40 PM