Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that crude oil exports from the U.S. rose by 43 Mb/d to 3.74 MMb/d in June. For the second straight month, Europe imported the highest share of U.S. oil at 1.8 MMb/d, accounting for 49% of overall exports. This was followed by shipments to Asia Pacific, which were estimated at 1.4 MMb/d, or 38%. Overall, North America was the only region that received more shipments than in the previous month from the U.S.
The Netherlands was the top buyer of U.S. crude oil in June for the second straight month. The country imported a record 868 Mb/d in June, up significantly from the 565 Mb/d procured in May. The increase is not surprising, since more vessels headed to the country after the inclusion of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland barrels in the Brent basket. As part of the process, most of the WTI Midland for sale from the U.S. is first delivered to the Netherlands, then resold from the North Sea into the international market after adding a freight adjustment factor.
