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.
