Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.22
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
If the president-elect of the US Donald Trump blocked the oil import from Saudi Arabia, there would be significant diplomatic and industrial repercussions, director of Downstream Consulting at IHS Markit, Spencer Welch told Trend Nov.22.
Theoretically it is possible, but unlikely, as it is a threat to encourage increased contribution and support in the war against the “Islamic State” (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group, according to the expert.
For one thing, the US relies on the supply of some heavy crude for its refineries, which cannot run purely on US domestically produced crude, Welch explained.
Saudi Arabia’s Aramco company runs three oil refineries in the US, with a total capacity of more than 1 million barrels per day as part of the Motiva Enterprises JV with Shell, he added.
The expert pointed out that president-elect Trump has made a number of bold statements during his campaign and only in early 2017, when he takes up office, his policies will be clearer.
Earlier, Donald Trump said that the US needs to block all oil imports from Saudi Arabia.
During his campaign, Trump vowed to secure US energy independence from “our foes and the oil cartels."
However, later, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Khalid Al-Falih said that “at his heart President-elect Trump will see the benefits [of Saudi oil imports] and I think the oil industry will also be advising him accordingly that blocking trade in any product is not healthy.”