页岩繁荣促使美国向加拿大出口原油

Oil companies are securing licences to export US crude at a frantic pace as the shale boom leads to swelling supplies along the Gulf of Mexico.

随着页岩繁荣促使美国墨西哥湾地区供应大增，石油企业正纷纷申请美国原油的出口牌照。

The US government granted 103 licences to ship crude oil abroad in its latest fiscal year, up by more than half from the 66 approved in 2012 and the highest since at least 2006, according to data obtained by the Financial Times.

英国《金融时报》得到的数据显示，美国政府在上一财年发放了103张原油出口牌照，比2012年的66张增加了一半多，也创下至少自2006年以来的最高纪录。

All but a dozen of last year’s licences were to Canada, where companies may buy US crude as long as they refine it there.

去年除了12张牌照外，其余都是向加拿大出口的牌照，加拿大企业可能购买美国原油——只要它们在加拿大炼油。

The clamour for licences is unexpected as Canada is the top foreign oil supplier to the US.

油企踊跃申请向加拿大出口原油牌照令人意外，因为加拿大是美国的第一大石油供应国。

But huge production gains in states such as Texas, coupled with restrictions on coastal tanker movements to US refineries, encourage traders to buy cheap Gulf coast crude and sell it in eastern Canada at higher global prices.

但德克萨斯等州原油产量的大量增长，加上前往美国炼油厂的沿海运油活动受到限制，促使贸易商买入便宜的墨西哥湾原油，然后以较高的国际价格在加拿大东部销售。

Exports to Canada totalled 99,000 barrels per day in September, the latest official data show. Traders estimate flows have since risen to about 200,000 b/d, the highest in more than a decade. Valero, the biggest North American refiner, has received a licence to export Eagle Ford crude from Texas to its refinery in Quebec, eastern Canada.

最新官方数据显示，今年9月，美国向加拿大原油日出口量达到9.9万桶。贸易商估计，该数字自那以后已增至约20万桶，创下10多年来最高纪录。北美最大炼油商瓦莱罗(Valero)获得了一张牌照，可以将产于德克萨斯州伊格福特(Eagle Ford)的原油出口至该公司位于加拿大东部魁北克的炼油厂。

Irving Oil, which owns Canada’s biggest refinery, has been buying US crude delivered by vessel and railway. Trafigura, the trading house, said a subsidiary had held an export licence to Canada for years.

拥有加拿大最大炼油厂的欧文石油(Irving Oil)一直在购买海运和铁路运输的美国原油。贸易行托克(Trafigura)表示，它的一家子公司多年前就持有向加拿大出口原油的牌照。

More than 3.3m barrels of US crude have been exported to Canada from the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas in the 11 months to November, said Dennis DeVries, director of finance. Volume has jumped 10-fold from 2012. The shipments compete with production from Canada’s offshore Atlantic fields. Chile’s state oil company ENAP bought some of the displaced Canadian crude, traders said.

德克萨斯州科尔普斯克里斯蒂港(Port of Corpus Christi)财务总监丹尼斯•德弗里斯(Dennis DeVries)表示，今年头11个月，经由该港出口至加拿大的美国原油已超过330万桶。自2012年以来，这个数字已累计增长9倍。来自美国的原油与加拿大位于大西洋的海上油田形成竞争。贸易商表示，被美国原油取代的加拿大原油部分被智利国家石油公司ENAP买走。

US crude oil exports to markets outside Canada have been tightly controlled since 1975, when the country was reeling from the Arab oil embargo.

1975年，阿拉伯国家的石油禁运让美国受到严重冲击。自那时起，美国一直严格控制对加拿大以外市场的原油出口。

Jake Dweck, partner at the Sutherland Asbill & Brennan law firm, said: “Companies, particularly traders, often obtain licences to make sure they have the option to act if the market opportunity arises. So some end up actually using their licences while others just sit on them.”

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan律师事务所合伙人杰克•德韦克(Jake Dweck)说：“以贸易商为首的企业获取牌照，往往是为了确保它们在市场出现机会的时候有采取行动的选择。有些企业的牌照最终真正派上了用场，有些则没有。”