Obama's policies for tanker imports

Friday, 23 January 2009 13:37

US President Barack Obama's energy policies are holding to pre-election promises to end the need for crude oil imports from Venezuela and the Middle East. “This spells doom for [tanker] owners; the US is

still the world's largest crude oil consumer, and voyages moving Middle Eastern crude to the US form an important part of global tanker traffic,” said one broker to Tankerworld. Obama said in August that “if I am President, I will immediately direct the full resources of the Federal Government and the full energy of the private sector to a single, overarching goal – in 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela.”

According to brokers Gibson, Obama's “number one strategy is to invest into the development of multiple renewable energy sources aiming at significantly substituting consumption of foreign and domestic oil with other forms of energy.”

Another major element of Obama's plan is to encourage fuel efficiency and research into new car engines and plug-in hybrids. “His comprehensive energy plan, among other ideas, covers initiatives in nuclear power generation, the electricity sector, clean coal technology and climate change,” said Gibson.

Reports have confirmed that the Obama administration is sticking to his pre-election proposals on energy strategies for the nation's new energy policies.

Obama said after the inauguration that he would prioritize construction of the Alaska National Gas Pipeline to bolster US suppliers, according to reports.

Obama also “vowed to establish a national low-carbon fuel standard.”

According to Gibson, “these ambitious energy proposals represent a major threat to tanker demand in the long term.”

The London-based brokerage did qualify however, that “calls for US energy dependence have been echoed over the years, but in reality the country's addiction to foreign oil has remained strong.”

Source: TankerWorld