U.S. crude oil exports rising, yet not as quickly 2013-15 pace

Exports of U.S. crude oil rose 12% to 520,000 barrels per day in 2016, an increase of 55,000 barrels per day from 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Exports have risen as U.S. oil production has fallen.

While exports have risen, they aren’t increasing as rapidly as the pace set between 2013 and 2015, when U.S. oil production rose quickly. In 2016, factors that contributed to the rise in the oil exports included increased imports of oil and low tanker rates.

The United States exported oil to 26 countries in 2016, up from 10 in 2015. Canada received 58% of U.S. oil exports in 2016, down from 92% in 2015. The country was exempt from U.S. export restrictions, which were lifted in December 2015, according to the EIA. Asia, which includes China, Japan, Korea and Singapore, receives the second-largest amount of U.S. oil.

Behind Canada and the Netherlands, Curacao in the Caribbean Sea, received 30,000 barrels per day of U.S. crude oil in 2016, “making it the third-largest destination,” the EIA shows. Petroleos de Venezuela, a state-owned company of Venezuela, operates a refinery producing 330,000 barrels per day on Curacao. Reports show that U.S. crude oil exported to Curacao is “likely being blended with heavy Venezuelan crude oil, either for processing at the Isla refinery or for re-export” to the state-owned company’s customers.