Where is alaska oil shipped to

A friend said she thought she heard that the United States drilled for oil in Alaska but instead if this being used for the U. Is this true? If yes, then why. Is it true that all Alaskan oil is shipped to Japan?

Top Fact Checks. View all. Most Searched. Export of natural gas from Alaska's North Slope was authorized in , although the applicability of this authorization to the proposed Alaska LNG Project has not been resolved. Alaska's experience shows that—under a specific set of circumstances—such exports have been viewed as in the national interest both by Congress and successive presidential administrations.

What are the expectations for capital investment by developers to support export production and how might they affect the nation's overall oil and gas supplies? As Congress continues its oversight of the nation's energy resources, understanding these issues may be important.

The deployment of shale energy technology, including hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, in the United States has created a new abundance of crude oil and natural gas in a number of energy-producing regions across the country. Since , U. The growth in domestic natural gas and crude oil production has fundamentally shifted the energy supply and demand balance in key U.

However, it may be noted that U. In the context of the current export debate, a review of Alaska's experiences with crude oil and natural gas exports may offer historical perspectives of value to policy makers. This report provides a summary overview of Alaskan crude oil and natural gas export authorizations since the late s, including a review of export activity. The report does not address exports of refined products e.

For a more general discussion of U. Alaska's principal energy-producing basins are located on the North Slope in the Arctic and in the Cook Inlet region to the south Figure 1. Development of North Slope oil began with the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay oil field in and the subsequent development of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System TAPS in the s to deliver North Slope crude, as well as smaller quantities of natural gas liquids NGLs , such as propane, to a marine terminal at Valdez on the state's southern coast.

As discussed below, the North Slope contains significant dry natural gas resources as well, but these have not been commercially developed beyond serving local needs. Figure 1.

Crude oil drilling in the Cook Inlet region has a much longer history, beginning in the early s and continuing sporadically through World War II. However, large scale commercial development did not begin until the late s after discoveries by Richfield Corporation at Swanson River.

The Trans Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act 9 specified that oil shipped through the pipeline could be exported internationally, but only under restrictive conditions detailed in Appendix A including a finding by the President that such exports would be in the national interest.

In effect, the conditions amounted to a ban on TAPS oil exports. TAPS was completed in ; initial oil shipments were flowing by year-end. Much of the North Slope crude was shipped to California for refining, which was the nation's third-largest oil producer at the time. Figure 2. Lacking access to TAPS crude, Canadian refiners on the west coast had to source their oil feedstock from more expensive Asian or Middle Eastern suppliers.

Canada sought this reciprocal access for its acquiescence to essentially guarantee a supply of oil and gas to the United States under the USCFTA energy chapter. In the mids, high volumes of Alaskan oil could be shipped economically only to the four western states. Some also pointed to the underutilization of tankers built to carry North Slope crude, and the resulting negative impacts on marine employment, shipbuilding and repair, and the availability of tankers for national defense.

Early efforts to achieve remedial action failed until , when low world oil prices, a relatively modest level of net oil imports 8. First, lifting the ban would expand the markets in which ANS oil can be sold, thereby increasing its value. ANS oil producers, the States of California and Alaska, and some of their local governments all would benefit from increased revenues.

Permitting exports also would generate new economic activity and employment in California and Alaska. The study concludes that these economic benefits would be achieved without increasing gasoline prices either in California or in the nation as a whole.

Increased producer revenues would be the result of access to a broader market as well as transportation savings realized by avoiding a trip through the Panama Canal to reach U. Higher North Slope production, in turn, would generate additional income to the federal government due to oil sales from federally owned reserves and royalties on federal leases. Royalty revenues to the state of Alaska would likewise increase. Original opposition to the export of crude oil from TAPS was driven in part by representatives of the U.

Some opponents also expressed concerns about potential oil spills in light of the Exxon Valdez spill or linked TAPS oil exports to potential oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an environmentally sensitive area they wished to protect from development. Notwithstanding the arguments of opponents, and with substantial projected benefits and little administrative cost , export ban repeal bills in the th Congress H.

The act provides that oil transported through TAPS may be exported unless the President finds, after considering specified criteria, that exports are not in the national interest Appendix A.

The review—which included extensive public hearings, review of public comments, and analytical evaluation—concluded that TAPS exports would not likely pose a significant impact to the economy or the environment. The President's determination stated that such exports. I have also The oil export authorization included several conditions related to tanker shipping routes, inspections, and ballast exchange intended to mitigate environmental risk.

An additional cargo was shipped to China in aboard a tanker reportedly en route to Asia for repairs. Viewed relative to total domestic refinery input of In absolute terms, these export volumes were not viewed by market analysts as particularly significant.

It is possible that production could have been lower without the incremental demand for exports. The GAO also concluded that lifting the export ban increased costs for some refiners but had limited effects on consumers and the oil-shipping industry on the West Coast.

The exemption was granted in part due to the efforts of Alaska's congressional delegation and others to persuade the Reagan Administration that increased oil revenues would spur greater oil development in Alaska in the face of declining production.

Figure 3. In his national interest determination, the Secretary of Commerce addressed Cook Inlet crude oil development. The benefits that will ensue from these exports include increased incentives for investment in the exploration and development of domestic crude oil, transportation efficiencies, and material enhancements to the energy security of our allies. This initiative will also encourage other countries to remove trade barriers to U. It does not affect our energy security as we retain the flexibility to react to changes in the world's available oil supply.

Exports from Alaska ' s Cook Inlet. Recently, those flows have been disrupted amid depressed U. West Coast oil consumption caused by state-ordered lockdowns that have kept drivers off the roads during the coronavirus pandemic. By contrast, China, the country that suffered first from the virus, is further along in opening back up with oil demand almost to where it was before lockdowns began earlier in the year.

Last month, the U.