Prologo: Maximizing America's potential for energy

One morning in April 2016, a tanker named the Sabine eased into its berth in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, carrying more than 1 million barrels of crude oil en route to European refineries. Physical logistics and trading companies like Trafigura charter dozens of ships each year to supply Europe with crude, but this one was different: it was from America.

The Sabine's voyage was the first export shipment of U.S. crude to Europe in more than 40 years.

It was part of a remarkable sea change in global energy markets since Congress in December 2015 lifted the ban on crude oil exports that had been in place since 1975.

The United States' growing hydrocarbon footprint is, of course, not so new. For some time before the lifting of the crude export ban, growing domestic supplies from the "shale revolution" were lowering energy costs and driving the expansion of the domestic energy and refining industry.

Today, America produces over 9.8 million barrels a day of crude oil, almost double its production 10 years ago. Notably, gasoline prices have been remarkably stable since the export ban was lifted, despite strong growth in demand - thus countering one of the fears that had kept the ban in place for all those years. With domestic demand satisfied, plentiful North American supplies have launched the U.S. onto the world stage as a new crude supplier, with cargoes reaching destinations from China to India, and Italy to Colombia.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 35,000 jobs have been added to the U.S. economy from oil and gas extraction services alone over the last 10 years. And for every job created in oil production, three jobs are created in the supply chain and six more in the wider economy.

Once domestic markets were supplied with cheaper transportation and aviation fuels, refiners turned to export markets in Latin America and Europe. The U.S. is the largest supplier of gasoline to Mexico, and a significant supplier of diesel to Brazil, Argentina and Europe. American liquefied petroleum gas regularly makes its way to growing markets in the Caribbean, Latin America and the Far East; excess natural gas is increasingly liquefied for export to other markets, a trend that is expected to grow significantly in coming years.

Restarting exports of American crude completed the story.

Demand for this product in European refineries and Far East petrochemical plants continues to grow, while American refineries are freed up to process heavier - and often cheaper - oil from Latin America or the Persian Gulf. In this way, the global energy market is becoming more efficient and domestic prices are stabilized.

But the flow of crude is large enough to cause even bigger changes. The trade imbalances between the U.S. and China, Japan and South Korea have begun to improve as the Far East imports more American oil. OPEC and non-OPEC members must watch America closely when deciding oil policy, as any reduction in supplies to their customers could be supplanted by American offerings. Master limited partnerships are building dozens of new pipelines and midstream assets, employing thousands in the process. Shipping companies are seeing new uses for vessels as American ports come to life.

As one of the leading exporters of U.S. crude and refined products, Trafigura has had a front-row seat as world oil flows adapted to the rise of the U.S. as a global energy power. By investing in infrastructure and logistics, we played a leading role in facilitating exports of U.S. refined products prior to the lifting of the crude ban and are doing the same for U.S. crude.

The re-emergence of the U.S. as a global energy power is a gain for the world and for the U.S. economy. But we should not take it for granted.

An ongoing commitment to the nation's infrastructure will be necessary to maintain the United States' competitive position. Busy ports must be maintained and upgraded. Regulation and permitting should be fair and export bottlenecks addressed.

And most of all, the entrepreneurial spirit that gave birth to the North American energy revolution in the first place should be nurtured by education and training programs, incentives for technological advancement and an efficient marketplace that protects the environment without overly burdensome bureaucracy.

The rare maiden voyages of American oil two years ago have given way to a "new normal" where American oil is powering the global economy.

Industry and government must work together to sustain American competitiveness in the years and decades ahead.

Prologo is Trafigura's head of oil trading and director for Trafigura North America.