US crude oil exports up sharply in the first half of 2019

U.S. exports of crude oil jumped in the first half of the year, according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Exports rose to an average of 2.9 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first half of 2019, up 966,000 b/d from the first half of 2018. Exports reached a record 3.2 million b/d average in June.

Canada is the top destination for U.S. crude oil exports, up 3 percent from the first half of 2018. The top regional destination for U.S. crude oil exports was Asia and Oceania at 1.3 million b/d in the first half of 2019 – up 58 percent. Exports to South Korea, India, and Taiwan were up the most, as exports more than doubled. However, U.S. crude oil exports to China in the first half of 2019 was down 64 percent from the same period last year.

U.S. crude oil exports to Western European destinations averaged 824,000 b/d in the first half of 2019 or 66 percent more than in the first half of 2019. First-half 2019 exports to the Netherlands increased 173,000 b/d (192 percent), and exports to the United Kingdom increased 74,000 b/d (53 percent) compared with the first half of 2018.

Also, the U.S. remains one of the world’s largest importers of crude oil. In the first half of 2019, U.S. imports of crude oil averaged 4.2 million b/d compared with 6.1 million b/d in the first half of 2018. The decline is due to the fact that U.S. domestic crude oil production has increased.