Crude oil in storage at Cushing declined in past week

  • March 15, 2023

The Elements Unfold: A Possible Bottom to Oil Prices | Council on Foreign Relations

 

While the government reported U.S. crude oil exports set a record of 3.6 million barrels a day in 2022, the amount of crude oil stored at the Cushing Hub in northern Oklahoma dropped in the past week.

Cushing experienced a nearly 2% decline as the amount of crude in storage was 37.9 million barrels as of March 10, 2023. A week earlier, the total was 39.8 million barrels according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Cushing’s total crude storage had been on the increase since the beginning of the year and this represented the first decline in months.

The current amount in storage is nearly 58% more than the 24 million barrels held one year ago in Cushing.

However, this past week’s total of crude held in Cushing was 21% less than two years ago when it was 48.2 million barrels.

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The EIA also reported U.S. crude oil exports in 2022 averaged 3.6 million barrels a day which was a 22% increase or 640,000 b/d from 2021. But the number of destinations for U.S crude oil decreased from 39 to 38 and South Korea received the largest share with 10.3% following by the Netherlands at 10.2% and the UK at 9.6%.

U.S. exports to India (the top export destination in 2021) and China (the top export destination in 2020) declined the most, as Western sanctions on Russia’s crude oil exports shifted trade patterns reported the EIA. These decreases were more than offset by increases to other destinations, particularly in Europe. The growth in U.S. crude oil exports was driven by increased U.S. crude oil production, releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and increased global demand for alternatives to Russia’s crude oil.

Jerry Bohnen