Kinder Morgan Says Tanker Rates Gain After Ukraine Crisis

Day rates for vessels that move oil and refined products between U.S. ports rose after the United States banned Russian oil and product imports this year, Kinder Morgan Inc Chief Executive Steven Kean said on Wednesday.

Pipeline and terminal operator Kinder Morgan, which owns about 16 Jones Act vessels, saw a "meaningful" uptick in demand spurred by the U.S. ban following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kean said at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions conference.

The Jones Act requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S. crews. Kinder Morgan vessels carry crude oil, refined products and fuel blend stocks to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast ports.

Daily chartering rates were moving toward the bottom end of pre-pandemic rates of $60,000 to $65,000, Kean added.

The United States imported 672,000 barrels per day of Russian crude and refined products last year, according to Energy Information Agency data. Of that, 30%, or 199,000 bpd, was crude, while 473,000 bpd was refined products.

(Reuters - Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in HoustonEditing by Nick Zieminski)