crude oil exporter
The war between Iran and Israel is still going on. Statements are being made by US President Donald Trump that the war will soon stop completely. Meanwhile, a good news is coming for USA. Last week, America came close to becoming a net exporter of crude oil for the first time since World War II.
Shipments reached near record levels to meet demand from Asian and European buyers. These buyers were rapidly looking for other options to replace the halted supplies from the Middle East due to the Iran War, which directly benefited America. America and Israel's war with Iran created the biggest turmoil in the global energy market so far. Due to Iran's threats regarding shipping, almost one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies stopped passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Refiners in Asia and Europe, who depend on this supply. Wherever possible, we are purchasing second consignment from there. This has led to a huge surge in demand for oil from America, the world's largest producer. However, analysts and traders say that America is rapidly approaching its export capacity.
According to US government data released on Wednesday, last week the net import of crude oil, i.e. the difference between import and export, decreased to 66,000 barrels per day. This is the lowest level in weekly data available since 2001. At the same time, exports increased to 5.2 million barrels per day, which is the highest in seven months. The data shows that on an annual basis, the US was last a net exporter of crude oil in 1943.
Janiv Shah, Rystad's vice president of oil markets, said rising US crude exports show that Atlantic and Asian buyers are reaching far and wide for available supplies. Due to the difference in oil prices in different regions, the cost of shipping also increases.
In recent months, countries like Greece have purchased crude oil from America for the first time. According to ship tracking service 'Kpler', last week about 47% of total US exports, i.e. 2.4 million barrels per day of oil, were sent to Europe. At the same time, about 37% i.e. 1.49 million barrels per day of oil went towards Asia. This figure is more than 30% from a year ago.
The top buyers of US crude oil included Netherlands, Japan, France, Germany and South Korea. According to Kpler data, a ship loaded with 500,000 barrels of crude oil was seen heading towards Türkiye. This will be America's first export to that country in at least a year.
Kpler analyst Matt Smith said US exports are likely to reach about 5.2 million bpd in April. He further said that month-wise exports are nearing their maximum limit. Traders and analysts said the US could export a maximum of 6 million bpd, given limited pipeline capacity and ship availability.
