Not only does the United States remain the largest oil-producing country in history, but the amount of oil it exports (crude oil, refined products, and natural gas liquids) is close to the total production of Saudi Arabia or Russia.
With this performance, the USA is leading the strong non-OPEC+ supply growth, which will more than meet the increasing global demand in 2024. It is developing a competitive environment contrary to OPEC+’s efforts to increase prices.
Oil was little changed on Wednesday as investors monitored the situation in the Red Sea following the latest attacks by pro-Iran Yemeni Houthi militants.
Brent crude futures were down 8 cents, or 0.1%, at $79.15 a barrel as of 05:07 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was unchanged at $73.94 a barrel.
Brent and WTI rose more than 1% on Tuesday amid tensions over the disruption of global trade and geopolitical and geoeconomic tensions in the Middle East following Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have vowed to defy the US-led naval mission and continue targeting the ships in Redsea in support of the ruling Hamas movement in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Washington on Tuesday launched a task force to protect Red Sea trade as attacks by Yemeni militants force major shipping companies to seek new routes, raising fears of continued disruptions to global trade.
The US-led naval mission to mitigate Houthi attacks has not been successful in decreasing widespread concerns about safe passage through the Red Sea. Large shipping companies that dominate the market are disturbed by the defense weakness and prefer to stay away from this tense region.
Approximately 12% of world shipping traffic passes through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. However, analysts said the impact on oil supplies has been limited so far because most Middle East crude is exported through the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States purchased 2.1 million barrels of crude oil for delivery in February, the Energy Department said Tuesday, bringing total purchases to nearly 11 million barrels as it continues to replenish its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) following the largest sale in history last year.
Sources, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), said US crude oil stocks increased last week, contrary to analysts’ expectations of a decline in crude stocks. At the same time, fuel stocks also increased.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release official US stockpile data at 1530 GMT on Wednesday.
