Asia tops North America as Venezuela’s biggest oil customer
Asia supplanted North America as the primary destination for Venezuela’s crude oil exports last year, Reuters reports. Exports to Asia jumped 20% last year, while exports to the U.S., Canada and Mexico fell 11%. Recent figures from the EIA showed the U.S. purchased 17% less oil from Venezuela last year — a 25-year low.
The report underscores a general shift in the U.S. away from oil imports from politically unstable nations, but U.S. energy independence is far from a reality. The EIA reported last week that while overall crude imports fell last year, the U.S. has grown more dependent on imports from Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.