U.S. oil exports to China almost halved in 2024, Bloomberg reports, citing Kpler data. The United States exported 81.1 million barrels of oil to China this year, which is 46% lower than the previous year (150.6 million barrels). Thus, China has dropped to sixth place among the largest buyers of US oil from second.
Chinese demand for oil is declining amid a slowdown in the country’s economic growth, the proliferation of electric vehicles and increased LNG consumption. The total volume of oil imports to China this year decreased by 7.2%. At the same time, the share of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela in maritime supplies rose to 26% from 24% a year earlier, with the Middle East accounting for about 60%.
At the same time, Europe has remained the main buyer of American oil at the regional level for three years.
The Netherlands continues to be the leader, importing 194.4 million barrels of oil from the United States in 2024. The second place is taken by South Korea (165.5 million barrels), which is trying to compensate for the decline in supplies from Kazakhstan, which has begun to cooperate more actively with Italy.
This year, the United Kingdom is in third place (11.8 million barrels), Canada is in fourth place (102.3 million barrels), and Spain is in fifth place (87.3 million barrels). The seventh place is taken by France (81.3 million barrels), and the eighth – by Taiwan (80.4 million barrels).
exports of American oil, oil exports to China
