US crude exports set a record high amid market share war with OPEC
Reuters
- The US set a new record exporting 3.99 million barrels a day of crude oil in first half of 2023.
- That's up 19% from the same time a year ago, EIA data shows.
- It comes as non-OPEC production has been whittling down OPEC's share of the oil market.
US crude oil exports set a new record earlier this year as booming production has helped erode OPEC's dominance in global crude markets.
Exports in the first half of 2023 averaged 3.99 million barrels per day, according to data released Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration.
That's up 19% from a year ago and the highest for the first half of a year since 2015, when the US ban on crude exports ended.
The surge in exports arrives as the US has been pumping a record amount of oil, topping 13 million barrels a day in September and reinforcing its status as the world's top producer.
To be sure, Saudi Arabia remains the leading exporter of oil, with shipments exceeding 6 million barrels a day. But the flood of oil from the US has made it harder for OPEC to dominate the oil market.
In fact, the huge volumes of production from countries like the US, Brazil, and Guyana has whittled OPEC's share of the oil market to its lowest levels in nearly a decade, according to the International Energy Agency.
That's as OPEC nations like Saudi Arabia have implemented steep production cuts this year in an attempt to stabilize oil prices after they fell during the pandemic.
Those efforts have been thwarted by a stream of non-OPEC oil production, as crude prices remain below September levels.
"Saudi Arabia has held barrels off the market making room for additional US exports, while at the same time flows from Russia have shifted away from Europe opening the opportunity for US barrels to go to Europe," Rebecca Babin, senior equity trader for CIBC Private Wealth, told Business Insider.
Energy expert Paul Sankey said earlier this month that Saudi Arabia would wage a "market share war" with the US to regain command over oil prices by flooding the market with a surge of supply.
But for now, the oil cartel plans to continue with its production cuts, slashing 2.2 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2024. On the flip side, US production is expected to grow even more next year.