US crude oil imports fall to 12-year low
Financial Times | Mar 1
US crude imports have fallen to their lowest level for a decade as a result of weak demand and growth in domestic production, making the economy more resilient to oil price rises. The US imported 8.91m barrels a day of crude oil last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration, the lowest amount since 1999.

US crude imports from Canada reach record high 2.436 million b/d
Platts | Feb 29
US crude imports from Canada climbed to a record high 2.436 million b/d in December, data released by the US Energy Information Administration showed Wednesday. Imports were up 75,000 b/d from November, leaving Canada as the number one exporter of crude to the US. Saudi Arabia came in second at 1.293 million b/d, while Mexico came in third at 945,000 b/d.
U.S. Was Net Oil-Product Exporter for First Time Since 1949
Bloomberg | Feb 29
The U.S. exported more gasoline, diesel and other fuels than it imported in 2011 for the first time since 1949, the Energy Department said. Shipments abroad of petroleum products exceeded imports by 439,000 barrels a day, the department said today in the Petroleum Supply Monthly report. In 2010, daily net imports averaged 269,000 barrels. U.S. refiners exported record amounts of gasoline, heating oil and diesel to meet higher global fuel demand while U.S. fuel consumption sank.
Nice Oil Imports You’ve Got There. Shame if You Lost Them
Foreign Policy | Feb 29
For decades, Canada has been the single-largest supplier of imported crude oil and refined oil products to the United States. In 2010, Canadian exports provided about 26 percent of all net U.S. liquid fuel imports (consisting of crude oil and refined products) — or nearly 12 percent of America’s total demand for liquid hydrocarbons, roughly every eighth barrel.
US Says World can replace oil lost to Iran sanctions
Reuters | Mar 2
Global oil producers appear to have enough spare capacity to make up for Iranian exports curtailed by tough new sanctions, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Thursday. Chu said it was important that sanctions be used to crimp Iranian oil sales to ensure Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons, despite the release of an Energy Information Administration report this week that showed supplies are tight.
How dependent are we on foreign oil?
US Energy Information Administration | Jun 24, 2011
The United States imported about 49% of the petroleum,1 which includes crude oil and refined petroleum products, that we consumed during 2010. About half of these imports came from the Western Hemisphere. Our dependence on foreign petroleum has declined since peaking in 2005.
India, China plan sharp cuts to Iran oil imports as US pressure mounts
The Times of India | Feb 21
India, China and Japan are planning cuts of at least 10 per cent in Iranian crude imports as tightening US sanctions make it difficult for the top Asian buyers to keep doing business with the OPEC producer. The countries together buy about 45 percent of Iran’s crude exports. The reductions are the first significant evidence of how much crude business Iran could lose in Asia this year as Washington tries to tighten a financial noose around Tehran.
Japan crude imports from Iran fall 22.5% in Jan
Reuters | Feb 28
Japan’s crude oil imports from Iran fell 22.5 percent in January from a year earlier to 1.67 million kiloliters (339,000 barrels per day), data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed on Wednesday, as the world’s third-biggest oil consumer seeks a waiver from U.S. sanctions.
China’s Jan crude oil imports from Iran down 14% month over month
Reuters | Feb 21
China’s January crude oil imports from Iran fell 14 percent from December on a daily basis, customs data showed on Tuesday, as top refiner Sinopec Corp slashed imports from Iran in a dispute over payments and prices. Sinopec is Iran’s biggest oil buyer and imports nearly all the crude that the Islamic Republic ships to China.
India opts to befriend rather than sanction Iran
Irish Times | Mar 2
INDIA SAYS it is determined to continue importing oil from Iran despite EU and US sanctions aimed at stopping trade until Tehran stops what the West insists is a military nuclear programme. Reacting to US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s comments that the US was engaging in “very intense and very blunt” conversations with India and others such as China and Turkey to stop oil imports from Iran, New Delhi officials indicated yesterday that they would not be coerced.