Venezuela's crude oil production is declining amid economic instability (3/28/2018)

Venezuela's crude oil production has been on a downward trend for two decades, but has experienced significant decreases over the past two years. Crude oil production in Venezuela fell from an annual average of 3.2 million barrels per day (b/d) in 1997 to an average of 2.4 million b/d in 2015 (Figure 1). More recently, Venezuela's crude production fell from a monthly average of 2.3 million b/d in January 2016 to 1.6 million b/d in January 2018. A combination of relatively low global crude oil prices and mismanagement of Venezuela’s oil industry has led to the accelerated decline in production. Venezuela's economy is extremely dependent on oil revenue, so the production declines are having a negative impact on the country's finances as well. ... More »

U.S. petroleum product exports continued to grow in 2017 (3/21/2018)

U.S. exports of petroleum products continued to grow in 2017, increasing 555,000 barrels per day (b/d) from 2016 to reach 5.2 million b/d. Rising U.S. exports of petroleum products such as hydrocarbon gas liquids (including propane), distillate, and gasoline are largely the result of increased U.S. refinery runs, which continued to set record highs in 2017. Gross refinery inputs averaged 16.9 million b/d in 2017, but refinery utilization, while reaching 91%, did not set a new record because refinery capacity has increased in recent years. Strong global economic growth spurring overall demand, combined with market factors unique to each product, supported U.S. petroleum product exports. ... More »

U.S. production of crude oil grew 5% in 2017, reaching 10 million barrels per day in the last two months of the year (3/14/2018)

Annual average U.S. crude oil production grew by 463,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2017 to 9.3 million b/d after declining by 551,000 b/d in 2016. In November 2017, monthly U.S. crude oil production grew 1.2 million b/d year-over-year and reached the highest level of production in U.S. history, surpassing 10 million b/d, a level last reached in 1970 (Figure 1). U.S. crude oil production has increased significantly over the past 10 years, driven mainly by production from tight rock formations using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. EIA projects that U.S. crude oil production will continue growing in 2018 and 2019, averaging 10.7 million b/d and 11.3 million b/d, respectively. ... More »

The United States exported 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil to 37 destinations in 2017 (3/7/2018)

U.S. crude oil exports increased sharply in 2017 and were sent to more destinations, becoming the third-largest type of U.S. petroleum export. Increased U.S. crude oil exports were supported by increasing U.S. crude oil production and expanded infrastructure, resulting in lower domestic crude oil prices when compared with international crude oil prices. ... More »