It's “an interesting situation,” according to CITGO strategic planning manager Adrian Davidson. “We’re producing oil in the United States, and a lot of this production is light, sweet crude.” Even though a number of U.S. refiners over the years have been reconfigured to handle heavy crude, the news is still good, he insists.
“It is more economically sound for these light-sweet crudes to be exported to Europe and Asia which are designed to handle lighter crudes, unlike the heavy-grade U.S. refineries,” Davidson said, representing the refining sector at the Association of Texas Chemical Industry (ACIT) South Texas Economic Outlook Luncheon held recently in Corpus Christi, Texas. “So you have kind of a nice fit here.” As production in the Permian Basin grows—specifically, crude production—the bottom line is going to translate to more crude exports, Davidson said, adding that Eagle Ford production is also expected to continue growing.
