REUTERS
The first oil tanker to sail from the U.S. after restrictions were lifted on the country's crude exports has arrived in Europe, a landmark moment for an industry battling a collapse in prices, according to The Financial Times.
Vitol, the world's largest independent oil trader, is expected to unload the cargo at the port near Marseille, where it will then be carried by pipeline to one of two refineries the company operates in Europe under a joint venture with Carlyle Group, The Financial Times wrote.
The most likely destination is the Cressier refinery in Switzerland operated by the Vitol and Carlyle joint venture, Varo Energy, trading sources say. But there is also a potential pipeline route to Varo Energy's refinery in Bavaria.
Read alsoOil dips as market braces for more Iranian oilExports of U.S. crude oil have been restricted since the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s. But in late December the U.S.lifted the ban, with its domestic shale industry laboring under the biggest oil slump of the postwar era.
Oil prices have fallen by almost 75% over the past 18 months, as OPEC, the producer cartel, has tried to cut off rising output from higher cost sources like U.S. shale, Canadian tar sands and Brazilian ultradeepwater fields.
U.S. shale output has so far surprised many in the industry with its resilience to lower oil prices, even as producers have been forced to idle rigs and lay off staff.