U.S. crude oil exports hit new records in 2023

Crude oil exports from the U.S. hit a new record in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration  released Monday.

Oil companies exported 4.1 million barrels of crude oil a day last year, a 13% increase over 2022.

Exports have increased exponentially since 2015, when a ban on crude-oil exports was lifted.

Many U.S. refineries are optimized to use heavy, sour crude oils, whereas much of the oil produced from America’s shale plays produce light, sweet crude, which is utilized in refineries overseas.

The Netherlands was the largest importer of U.S. crude in 2023, followed by China, South Korea, and Canada.

The EIA attributed the high-volume exports to Europe as an effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions placed on imports from Russia by the European Union.

China’s imports of American crude doubled in 2023 from the previous year. Expansions of China’s refineries and the reopening of the Chinese economy following the Covid panic, according to the EIA, drove the nation’s import volumes.

Exports to India last year fell 47% as that country began importing from Russia.