S & P Global Platts published the above-titled article, which reads in part as follows:
“In its Petroleum Supply Monthly report Tuesday, EIA [U.S. Energy Information Administration] said that crude oil imports in the US Gulf Coast fell to 1.22 million b/d in October, its lowest monthly average since February 1985.
Total US imports of crude oil from OPEC countries fell below 1.2 million b/d, also the lowest since February 1985. Crude imports from Persian Gulf countries fell to 671,000 b/d in October, a 53% decline from October 2018, EIA said.
Total US imports of foreign crude are on pace to average below 6.9 million b/d in 2019, down nearly 900,000 b/d from 2018 and the lowest annual average since 1993 when imports averaged less than 6.8 million b/d, EIA said. Annual US crude imports peaked in 2005 at nearly 10.13 million b/d.
US refineries are on pace to import an average of 520,000 b/d of Saudi crude, accounting for about 8% of total US imports. This is the lowest annual rate of Saudi oil imports since 1985 when the US imported an average of 132,000 b/d. US imports of Saudi crude peaked in 2003 at nearly 1.73 million b/d.
The US exported an average of more than 3.38 million b/d in October, a new record high, EIA data showed. The US has averaged 2.9 million b/d of crude exports in 2019, up nearly 900,000 b/d from 2018. All US crude oil export limits were lifted in December 2015.
US crude was shipped to 31 different countries in October, including 490,000 b/d to Canada; 421,000 b/d to the Netherlands; 395,000 b/d to South Korea; 249,000 b/d to the UK; and 239,000 to India. According to EIA, the US also shipped a record 214,000 b/d to France and a record 192,000 b/d to Australia in October.
The US produced a record of nearly 12.7 million b/d of crude in October, up 171,000 b/d from September and up more than 1 million b/d from October 2019, EIA said.
The top producing states in October were Texas, which produced more than 5.27 million b/d; North Dakota, which produced more than 1.47 million b/d; New Mexico with 982,000 b/d; Oklahoma with 592,000 b/d; and Colorado with 554,000 b/d.
More than 1.9 million b/d were produced in US Gulf of Mexico waters in October, up 6,000 b/d from September and up 153,000 b/d from October 2019.
EIA forecasts US crude output to average 12.25 million in 2019 and 13.18 million b/d in 2020.”
