Crude oil exports from the U.S. surged last week, nearly turning the country into a net crude exporter for the first time since World War II.
A Reuters report said shipments surged close to a record high to meet demand from Asian and European buyers who are scrambling to replace Middle East supplies cut by the Iran war.
Net imports of crude oil, or the difference between imports and exports, narrowed to 66,000 barrels per day last week, the lowest on record in weekly data that goes back to 2001, according to U.S. government data released on Wednesday, while exports climbed to 5.2 million bpd, the highest in seven months.
The U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran triggered the largest ever disruption to the global energy market as Iranian threats to shipping stopped around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies from transiting the Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Refiners in Asia and Europe that depend on those supplies have bought alternative cargoes from wherever they can, sharply boosting demand for oil from the U.S., the world’s largest producer.
However, analysts and traders say the U.S. is rapidly approaching its export capacity.
Countries such as Greece have mopped up U.S. crude for the first time in recent months.
About 2.4 million bpd, or some 47% of U.S. exports last week, sailed toward Europe, according to ship tracking service Kpler.
Around 1.49 million bpd, or about 37%, headed to Asia, up from 30% a year ago.
Top buyers included the Netherlands, Japan, France, Germany, and South Korea.
A vessel carrying 500,000 barrels of crude oil signalled it was en route to Turkey, marking the first U.S. export to the country in at least a year, Kpler data showed.
Meanwhile, imports to the U.S.dropped by more than 1 million bpd to 5.3 million bpd last week. The U.S. still imports a lot of its crude as its refineries are designed to take heavier, more sour grades than the light sweet crude it produces.
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The disruption to Middle East supplies blew out the premium for Brent crude futures over U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures to as much as $20.69 a barrel last month, reducing U.S. buyers’ appetite for imports, while making U.S. crude attractive to refiners in Europe and Asia.
The price of physical crude oil cargoes for prompt delivery to Europe hit a record high near $150 a barrel on Monday, and those for Africa hit new peaks, according to LSEG data and traders.
U.S. exports are likely to touch about 5.2 million bpd for April, Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, told Reuters, adding that exports were pushing up against capacity limits monthly.
The U.S. can export as much as 6 million bpd, traders and analysts said, citing limited pipeline capacity and vessel availability.
Its exports hit a record high of 5.6 million bpd in 2023, according to government data.
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