Waterborne crude imports to the Gulf Coast from the Persian Gulf region rose 67% from August to December, FuelFix reports. As Matt Smith writes, imports from Iraq increased sevenfold, from 65,000 barrels per day in August to over 460,000 barrels per day in December.
Last week saw the first cargo of crude oil shipped from the U.S. since the removal in December of the decades-long ban on crude exports. Many observers believe the U.S. will continue to rely on imports for many years despite the lifting of the ban.
