Independent refiner Phillips 66 has shipped oil from the US Gulf coast to the US east coast on a foreign-flagged ship, taking advantage of a waiver of the Jones Act.
A Malta-flagged Panamex vessel loaded about 300,000 bl of Bakken crude on 3-5 April at Phillips 66's Nederland terminal in Texas and delivered it to Monroe Energy's 190,000 b/d Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania on 17-18 April, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. Monroe Energy is owned by Delta Air Lines.
The tanker is currently empty and scheduled for another US-to-US shipment starting 28 April, according to Kpler.
A Phillips 66 spokesman declined to comment on the shipment saying that the company does not discuss commercial activities.
The shipment took advantage of a 60-day Jones Act waiver issued on 17 March. President Donald Trump approved the waiver of domestic shipping requirements under in an attempt to ease a spike in commodity prices caused by the war in Iran.
The temporary waiver allows shippers to transport crude, natural gas, natural gas liquids, fertilizer, coal and other energy-related products from one US port to another without using US-built, US-crewed and US-flagged ships, as the 1920 Jones Act requires.
