NEW YORK: US crude production exceeded imports for the first time since early 1997 last week as rising output from shale plays cuts the country’s dependence on foreign oil, according to government data.
Imports of crude dipped to 7.268 million barrels per day (bpd) in the week to May 31, while crude oil production rose slightly to 7.300 million bpd, figures from the US Energy Information Administration showed. While purchases of foreign oil tend to fluctuate and could rebound next week, it still marks the first time production exceeded imports since January 1997.
Rising production from shale and other non-conventional oil plays over the past two years has reversed a decades-long decline in US oil output, and drastically reduced the need for refineries to buy foreign crude.
In the first quarter of this year, US crude oil imports fell to 681 million barrels, from million barrels in the same period of 2012 and 2011.
Imports of light, sweet crude have been particularly hard hit given the low sulfur content of much of the new US output.
Nigeria and Algeria have seen their crude exports to the US halved in the past two years, forcing them to find alternative markets in Europe and Asia.
US crude production exceeds imports
