US crude exports rise 14pc to record in 2023

Market: Crude oil, Freight
07/02/24

Exports of US crude rose to a record 4.06mn b/d last year on climbing production and a favorable global market for US oil.

Exports were up by 14pc, or 485,000 b/d, over the prior record in 2022, according to US Census Bureau data released Wednesday.

Increasing US exports are largely tied to rising production. The US produced about 12.6mn b/d in 2023, adding about 671,000 b/d of output, according to US Energy Information (EIA) Administration data.

While larger players in the US shale patch focused on returning profits to shareholders and paying down debts, private operators increased production. US producers also benefited from efficiency gains.

US crude production also benefited from offshore output in the Gulf of Mexico, which rose to 1.87mn b/d in January-November, up by 144,000 b/d from a year earlier, according to the latest EIA data.

Developments in the global crude market provided a favorable backdrop for rising US production.

The EU banned imports of Russian seaborne crude in December 2022 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Surging oil prices in 2022 resulting from the conflict spurred some production growth in the US as well.

To make up for the shortfall of medium sour Russian Urals, Europe increased its imports of US crude in 2023 by 20pc, or by just over 300,000 b/d, to 1.8mn b/d.

The Netherlands imported 652,000 b/d in 2023, up by 82pc from 2022, making it the largest importer of US crude last year. Spain, Sweden, Ireland and Lithuania also took more US crude last year, while the UK and France cut back.

Opec+ production fell by 820,000 b/d to 41.62mn b/d in 2023. The producer coalition pared its output targets three times in 2023 and once prior to that in October 2022, representing 4.7mn b/d of cuts to its targets.

US exports to Asia-Pacific grew by about 172,000 b/d, or 11pc, to 1.7mn b/d in 2023. China's imports of US crude doubled to 460,000 b/d. Taiwan and South Korea increased their imports as well. India's imports on the other hand halved to about 165,000 b/d as the country increased its intake of discounted Russian crude shunned by the US, European nations and others.

As Opec+ pulled back production of medium to heavy sour crudes and output of US light sweets grew, the latter's increased affordability incentivized refiners to import more WTI and West Texas Light (WTL), causing some refiners in Asia-Pacific and Europe to lighten their crude slates at times last year.

In addition to US light sweets, European and Asian refiners took more medium and heavy sours from the US Gulf coast in 2023 as other supplies became more scarce. US exports of medium-heavy sours rose by 19pc to 29mn bl in 2023, according to data analytics firm Vortexa. China doubled its imports of US medium-heavy sours to 249,000 b/d.

Total US crude exports to the Americas was relatively steady in 2023 at more than 500,000 b/d, according to Census data.

By Calder Jett

US crude exports by country				b/d
Country	2023	2022	±	±%

Global	3,576,213	4,060,952	484,739	13.6%
Europe	1,815,406	1,507,364	308,042	20.4%
Netherlands	651,551	359,027	292,524	81.5%
United Kingdom	264,022	331,408	-67,386	-20.3%
Spain	202,292	165,518	36,773	22.2%
Italy	177,036	176,248	788	0.4%
France	146,394	170,282	-23,888	-14.0%
Germany	106,171	108,411	-2,240	-2.1%
Denmark	53,367	48,773	4,594	9.4%
Sweden	51,845	30,367	21,477	70.7%
Norway	29,769	31,031	-1,261	-4.1%
Ireland	43,650	25,898	17,751	68.5%
Poland	34,253	29,618	4,634	15.6%
Lithuania	20,081	7,845	12,236	156.0%
Finland	16,783	8,886	7,896	88.9%
Portugal	9,147	14,050	-4,903	-34.9%
Turkey	6,728	0	6,728	-
Croatia	2,318	0	2,318	-
Asian-Pacific	1,702,924	1,530,694	172,230	11.3%
China (People's Republic of)	459,590	216,719	242,871	112.1%
Korea (Rep. of)	409,213	369,297	39,916	10.8%
Singapore	261,918	312,031	-50,114	-16.1%
Taiwan	220,012	195,853	24,159	12.3%
India	164,796	310,952	-146,156	-47.0%
Thailand	73,908	59,688	14,220	23.8%
Japan	43,863	26,720	17,142	64.2%
Australia	27,574	23,580	3,994	16.9%
Malaysia	18,948	9,958	8,990	90.3%
Indonesia	18,322	4,701	13,620	289.7%
Vietnam	2,738	1,194	1,544	129.3%
Israel	2,043	0	2,043	-
Americas/Other	542,619	525,592	17,027	3.2%
Canada	338,960	332,672	6,288	1.9%
Brazil	56,365	61,810	-5,445	-8.8%
Panama	30,964	21,021	9,943	47.3%
Colombia	28,974	25,593	3,380	13.2%
Peru	26,160	17,542	8,619	49.1%
Dominican Republic	23,784	21,941	1,843	8.4%
South Africa	12,095	0	12,095	-
Uruguay	10,976	34,556	-23,580	-68.2%
Nicaragua	10,453	10,457	-5	-
Chile	3,888	0	3,888	-
ꟷ US Census Bureau

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