EIA launching U.S. crude oil import tracking tool

November 24, 2014 | By

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released a new tool for tracking U.S. crude oil imports, allowing policymakers, analysts, and the public to more easily track trends in this area.  The tool sheds light on the adjustments to imports being made in response to growing production of crude oil within the United States and is just one part of EIA's ongoing effort to assess the effects of a possible relaxation of current limitations on U.S. crude oil exports, which is another avenue to accommodate domestic production growth.  

Users can utilize graphing and mapping features, as well as sort and display crude oil imports by month or year, crude type (i.e., light, medium, heavy), country source, port of entry, processing company, processing refinery, and more. 

The EIA has also issued a report containing some significant statistics gleaned from the new tool. For example, the tool revels that U.S. crude oil imports have declined since 2010, with nearly all of the drop occurring in light sweet grades. In particular, U.S. light crude imports fell 71 percent between 2010 and the period January through August 2014.

Another interesting highlight: Imports by the 10 largest refineries using imported light crude in 2013 accounted for 55 percent of total U.S. light crude imports, with the remaining 45 percent scattered among more than 100 other refineries. The largest source for light crude imports among this group was Canada, followed by Nigeria and Mexico. Of these 10 refineries, three are located on the East Coast, two in the Midwest, three on the Gulf Coast, and two on the West Coast.

Some other significant facts: The largest decline in crude oil imports occurred on the Gulf Coast (PADD 3), down 94 percent.  Light crude oil imports by East Coast (PADD 1) refiners were down 69 percent, reflecting both their increased use of domestic crudes and modestly lower refinery runs.

Currently in beta mode, EIA is soliciting feedback that it will incorporate into the tool's final release.

For more:
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