Crude oil tops U.S. petroleum exports in first half of 2018

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has determined crude oil served as the nation’s largest petroleum export during the first half of the year.

EIA said crude oil topped hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) to attain the distinction, with 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d) of exports. In addition, crude oil exports increased by 787,000 b/d, or almost 80 percent, from the first half of 2017 to the first half of 2018 and set a new monthly record of 2.2 million b/d in June.

America exported 7.3 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products in the first half of 2018, officials said, representing the largest amount of crude oil and petroleum product exports ever for the first six months of a year.

The exports went to regions in Asia and Oceania such as China, South Korea and India, EIA officials said, noting Europe was the second-largest market for America’s crude oil exports, led by Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

Conversely, officials said Canada was the only major U.S. crude oil export destination where exports decreased, down slightly in the first half of 2018 compared with the same period in 2017.

During the first half of the year officials said the United States exported 1.3 million b/d of distillate, primarily to destinations in Central and South America while the decline in distillate exports in the first half of 2018 compared with the first half of 2017 was mostly the result of lower exports to a number of destinations in Central and South America and in Europe.