U.S. crude oil imports from Venezuela increased by 183,000 barrels per day last week to reach 782,000 barrels per day, marking the highest weekly level since August 2017.
The increase extends a broader rise in Venezuelan oil shipments to the United States. Over the past six months, U.S. imports from Venezuela have increased by 237%, while the three-month average reached 626,000 barrels per day, the highest three-month average in nine years.
The recent figures represent a significant increase from previous levels, with the six-month growth showing that Venezuelan crude has become a larger part of U.S. oil imports.
The longer-term comparison also highlights the scale of the change. In 1997, the United States imported as much as 1.5 million barrels per day of oil from Venezuela. Between 1995 and 2007, U.S. imports from Venezuela consistently averaged more than 1 million barrels per day.
The latest data therefore puts current Venezuelan oil imports at their highest weekly level in nine years, while remaining below the levels recorded during the late 1990s and much of the 2000s.
