For the first time in 35 years, no Saudi oil has circulated in the United States last week, according to EIA data, in a demonstration that the United States – at least for now – does not depend as much on oil in the Middle East as it once did. .
In October, according to the EIA, the United States imported 8.544 million barrels. In June, this figure exceeded 36 million, although this figure was somewhat an anomaly, as Saudi Arabia threatened to flood the US market with crude oil.
For the most part since the early 2000s, the United States has imported more than 45 million barrels of Saudi crude oil per month.
Source: EIA
On a weekly basis, that figure has now dropped to zero.
Source: EIA
And US crude oil imports are not just declining from Saudi Arabia. By October, the United States imported significantly less crude oil from the Persian Gulf region.
In the early 2000s, the United States imported more than 3 million barrels of crude oil daily from the Persian Gulf region. In October 2020, the United States imported less than half a million barrels a day – and this figure is not an anomaly, it is a clear trend. The United States is relying less and less on foreign oil and, in particular, less and less on Persian Gulf oil.
Source: EIA
The data comes just as Saudi Arabia announced a voluntary reduction of millions of barrels a day in its oil production, while the OPEC + group sat at the negotiating table to draw up an oil market response plan and lack of demand. .
It also comes on the same day that Saudi Arabia announced a rise in oil prices for the United States for February by $ 0Mor.20 per barrel.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
More top readings from Oilprice.com:
Back to the main page