According to the US Energy Information Administration EIA), the US exported 286 000 bpd of crude oil in April, the highest levels of exports in 15 years. Exports have increased significantly since the start of 2013 and have exceeded 200 000 bpd in five of the past six months.
The increase in crude exports is largely the result of rising US crude production, which was 8.2 million bpd in March. Almost crude exports from the US have been delivered to Canada, and most of the recent increase in crude oil exports has been from the US Gulf Coast (PADD 3).
Gulf Coast crude exports averaged 134 000 bpd in the first quarter of 2014, a 283% increase over 2013’s record high of 35 000 bpd. In the first quarter of 2014, nearly 75% of Gulf Coast exports have left the region from the Houston-Galveston district, in Texas. The remaining barrels were loaded in Port Arthur, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Exports from the East Coast (PADD 1) averaged 30 000 bpd in the first quarter of 2014, down slightly from 2013, but up 9000 bpd in 2012. First quarter exports from PADD 1 were evenly distributed between the Port of New York and Portland, Maine, which is the starting point of a pipeline that delivers crude to refineries in the Montreal area. Exports of crude from the Midwest (PADD 2) have long been a source of crude for refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.
Adapted from a press release by Emma McAleavey.