U.S. crude oil imports increased by 248 Mb/d last week, according to our Crude Oil Billboard and data from the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Although modest volume declines were noted from Brazil, Iraq, and Canada, these were more than offset by the increase in imports from the Latin America region, notably Colombia. Last week, more crude was imported into the U.S. from Colombia than from Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, or Brazil.
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- Analyst Insight
Crude Oil Imports Skyrocket to 2025 High
Crude oil imports jump nearly 1 MMb/d to register the largest week of the year.
- Blog
El Diablo Suelto - How Will the Ban on Venezuelan Crude Affect U.S. Refiners?
The U.S. Treasury Department last week announced new sanctions on Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the national oil company of Venezuela, that effectively halts imports of Venezuelan crude oil into the U.S. Given that the Venezuelan crude imported to the U.S. is of the heavy sour variety, which is not produced in large amounts in the U.S. (except for California), certain refineries along the Gulf Coast are left scrambling to find alternative sources of feedstock for their facilities. Today, we evaluate historical crude oil imports from Venezuela, the refineries that are most heavily impacted, and the potential effects of the sanctions on U.S. refiners.
- Blog
Comin' to America, Part 4 - Gulf Coast Refineries Slashing Their Need for Imported Crude Oil
Back in 2005, marine terminals along the Gulf Coast were importing more than 6 MMb/d of crude oil, mostly to feed refineries within PADD 3 but also to pipe or barge north to PADD 2. By 2019, with U.S. shale production finishing up a decade-long rise, imports to the Gulf Coast had declined to less than 1.7 MMb/d. In COVID-impacted 2020, imports sagged, soared, then sagged again, recently settling in at about 1.2 MMb/d, their lowest level in — wait for it — 35 years! The 80% decline in Gulf Coast oil imports since the mid-2000s was made possible in part by big changes in the crude slates at refineries in Texas, Louisiana, and other PADD 3 states, mostly involving the swapping out of light sweet crude from overseas with favorably priced light sweet crude from the Permian and other U.S. shale plays. Today, we look at imports into PADD 3, the home of more than half of the U.S.’s total refining capacity.
