U.S. crude oil imports and exports both increased during the week ending Dec. 18, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.6 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, up by about 140,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged about 3.1 million b/d, up by about 472,000 b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 5.7 million b/d, down by about 849,000 b/d year on year, while crude oil exports averaged about 2.8 million b/d, down by about 637,000 b/d year on year.
The United States has become a major oil producer in the past years with the help of its shale oil production growth. Meanwhile, China has become one of the biggest oil importers. According to the latest release from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, China imported 45.36 million tonnes of crude oil in November, down 0.8 percent year on year.