Latin American shale oil: promise or pipedream? The challenges faced by Latin American refiners in processing fast emerging sources of shale oil in a low price environment

摘要

As a crude oil importer for over 30 years, the North American refinery market focused on heavy gravity, high sulphur crude oil processing to take advantage of the lower purchase prices and abundant volumes offered on these crude oils. Over the last decade, the proliferation of shale gas and shale oil (also known as tight oil) production in North America has literally changed the region's refinery landscape - seemingly overnight. Shale gas has reduced the cost of natural gas significantly, and some predict low gas prices will continue through at least 2020.1 Shale oil has very different characteristics to what was considered opportunity or price advantaged crude oils in the past; this relatively new oil is light in gravity, low in sulphur, and contains very little heavy residuum. As a result of developing the production of these raw materials, the US is on the road to energy independence, possibly within the next 5-15 years.2 North American refineries have significantly changed operating conditions, are reconfiguring their equipment, expanding production, and new facilities are being built specifically to handle shale oils. Despite the recent drop in global oil prices, shale oil appears to remain an important part of the North American refinery landscape.