US crude exports rose 126,000 b/d to a record 502,000 b/d in November, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday.

The prior record high of 455,000 b/d was set in March of 1957. EIA data goes back to 1920. This time last year, EIA data shows, US exports were just 253,000 b/d.

The bulk of the November volume went to Canada, where US barrels rose 104,000 b/d to 455,000 b/d. This echoes Statistics Canada data released at the beginning of the month, which showed Canadian imports from the US were around 487,000 b/d in November.

The bulk of the exports -- 212,000 b/d -- left the US from the Gulf Coast. However, 140,000 b/d was from the Atlantic Coast and 128,000 b/d was from the Midwest.

EIA data shows the US also exported crude to Switzerland, Singapore and China. Exports to Switzerland -- which, while small, have become a steady occurrence since April -- rose to 20,000 b/d, up from 8,000 b/d.

Exports to Singapore totaled 17,000 b/d, up from zero. Exports to China totaled 10,000 b/d in November. These are the first volumes to China since the 9,000 b/d sent in January 2013.

The EIA does not publish regional exports by destination.

EIA data also showed US condensate exports rebounded to 600,000 barrels in November, up from just 400,000 barrels in October. But November's exports were still below August's record 700,000 barrels.

According to the EIA, that processed condensate is designated in the monthly data as "kerosene and light gas oils" under "unfinished oils."

The data does not show which country took the US condensate, however. Platts has reported that South Korean and Japanese refiners have purchased condensate over recent months.

--James Bambino, james.bambino@platts.com
--Edited by Richard Rubin, richard.rubin@platts.com