Best position since the 1950s.
“War in Ukraine Drives New Surge of U.S. Oil Exports to Europe”
“With the West mostly shunning Russia’s oil and gas, U.S. crude exports increase“
“A year of war in Ukraine is revitalizing U.S. oil exports as a source of financial influence and geopolitical power.
As the West has shunned most Russian energy, unleashing a pressure campaign against the Kremlin’s petroleum revenues, record U.S. crude exports have helped fill the gap in Europe with the oil needed to produce gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, average monthly seaborne cargoes to the continent jumped 38% compared with the previous 12-month period, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. A fleet of skyscraper-size tankers carried more crude to Germany, France and Italy—the European Union’s largest economies—as well as Spain, which alone boosted purchases by about 88% over the period.
The pull of oil shipments from the Gulf Coast to Europe, which Kpler pegged at 1.53 million barrels a day in January, has in recent months made the continent a larger destination for U.S. crude than Asia.
The growth in exports marks the latest milestone in the revival of U.S. oil production after years of dwindling market clout. Petroleum exports supported Allied countries during both world wars, but output then slid, along with the country’s sway over global markets.
Now, the shale boom in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling has made the U.S. a major producer again, tapping gushers of fossil fuels ready for delivery to destinations opened by the Ukraine conflict.
U.S. natural gas shipments to Europe more than doubled last year, according to the White House, cushioning the continent’s households and manufacturers after Russia throttled supplies. Analysts say surging U.S. crude production helped to calm markets as the West restricted most Russian exports with bans and novel price caps in recent months.
“America is back in the most predominant position it has been in world energy since the 1950s,” said Daniel Yergin, an energy historian and vice chairman of S&P Global. “U.S. energy now is becoming one of the foundations of European energy security.”“
Another dividend from the relatively small amount of dollars being spent on Ukraine. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of American lives will be saved if there is no war over Taiwan.
“CIA Chief Says China Has Doubts About Its Ability to Invade Taiwan”
“Russia’s struggles in Ukraine may be causing Beijing to have more trepidation“
“Russia’s struggles to seize and keep territory in Ukraine over the past year has likely fueled doubts by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that China’s military could successfully invade Taiwan later this decade, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said.
“I think our judgment at least is that (Chinese) President Xi and his military leadership have doubts today about whether they could accomplish that invasion,” Mr. Burns said Sunday on CBS. “As they’ve looked at Putin’s experience in Ukraine, that’s probably reinforced some of those doubts.”
Mr. Burns said that the U.S. continued to take the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan seriously, adding that the risks of a conflict would likely grow further into the decade and beyond. U.S. intelligence and defense officials believe Mr. Xi wants to be ready to do so by 2027, if not sooner, but Mr. Burns said that goal isn’t set in stone.
“President Xi has instructed the PLA, the Chinese military leadership, to be ready by 2027 to invade Taiwan, but that doesn’t mean that he’s decided to invade in 2027 or any other year as well,” he said.”