President Trump's proposed US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is expected to boost American oil-and-gas exports, but at the cost of higher prices at the pump.
The blockade, which aims to cut off Iranian oil supplies, could lead to a surge in US oil exports, with market intelligence firm Kpler tracking 70 supertankers due to arrive in Gulf Coast ports in April and May.
US crude exports are on pace for a record 5 million barrels a day this month, according to Kpler, with the US also shipping roughly 3 million barrels of gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel each day.
However, the US has limited capacity to send more supply overseas, with the nation's four major oil-export facilities in Texas and Louisiana running close to their top capacity in recent years.
The jump in exports doesn't yet correspond to an increase in US oil production, with shale producers reluctant to add new rigs due to concerns over sustained price increases.
Energy producers are scrambling to figure out how high prices can go before buyers start cutting back, a phenomenon called demand destruction, which could trigger a recession and hurt demand.
