US refiners imported zero barrels of Saudi Arabian crude oil in July, the first full month without such shipments since 1985, as the US-Iran conflict disrupts Persian Gulf oil flows. Phillips 66 has cut Middle Eastern crude to less than 1% of the oil flowing into its plants, while Venezuela has stepped in to fill part of the gap. Kpler data point to a partial rebound in Saudi shipments in August.
US refiners imported zero barrels of Saudi Arabian crude oil in July, the first time an entire month has passed without such shipments since 1985. The halt stems from disruptions tied to the US-Iran conflict, which has largely shut down Persian Gulf oil flows. Earlier this year, US refiners were buying more than 800,000 barrels of Saudi oil daily.
Refiners scramble for alternatives
As the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and other war-related disruptions push up prices for barrels tied to the global benchmark, US refiners have been seeking alternatives to Saudi cargoes. Phillips 66 cut the share of Middle Eastern crude flowing into its plants to less than 1%, Chief Executive Mark Lashier said Wednesday. The company has been sending light crude from US fields to its New Jersey refinery to replace some foreign grades.
Chevron and PBF Energy are among the other refiners that have historically relied heavily on Saudi oil. Motiva Enterprises, which owns the nation's largest refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, is wholly owned by the Saudi state oil company and typically processes Middle Eastern crude.
Venezuela fills the gap
Venezuela has benefited from the shift away from Saudi crude. American refiners imported around 600,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude in July, up from roughly 100,000 barrels at the start of the year.
Zero for five straight weeks
Separately, Energy Information Administration data cited by Crypto Briefing showed Saudi imports registered zero barrels per day in each of the five weeks ending July 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. That compares with roughly 283,000 barrels a day a year earlier, the outlet reported.
Saudi Arabia's own exports fell to about 4.19 million barrels a day in July, Crypto Briefing reported. US oil exports also slipped to their lowest levels in eight months over the same period.
A partial rebound expected in August
US imports of Saudi crude are forecast to rebound this month to about 300,000 barrels a day, in line with recent historic norms, according to Kpler data cited by Investing.com. That would leave imports well below the volumes refiners bought before the conflict disrupted Gulf shipments of crude oil.
Sources: Economy News (Investing.com), Crypto Briefing
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