Trump Tariffs Are Gift OPEC Russia Not US Shale Oil Gas Pipelines - Bloomberg

Trump Tariffs Are Gift OPEC Russia Not US Shale Oil Gas Pipelines - Bloomberg



...A study conducted by consultants ICT International on behalf of five pipeline industry bodies found that approximately 77 percent of the steel used in line pipe in recent years was imported, either in the form of finished pipe or the raw material used to fabricate it in the U.S. (The report also noted that while the U.S. imports $2.2 billion of steel products related to line pipe from 29 countries, it exports steel and steel products worth five times as much to those same 29 nations).



...A 25 percent increase in the cost of imported line pipe, fittings and valves would raise the cost of a 280-mile oil pipeline -- typical of those needed to carry shale oil from the Permian Basin to the Gulf coast -- by $76 million. For a mega-project, like the Dakota Access pipeline, also championed by President Trump, the cost increase could be as much as $300 million.



...The shale industry is already facing the prospect of pipeline bottlenecks hampering output growth. Further obstacles to pipeline construction would hurt jobs in the oil patch, too.



But it's easy to see one result -- U.S. oil output growth will slow. ...