Base oil exports from the United States declined 10% to 2.3 million barrels – dragged down by decreases in exports to Mexico, Brazil, Canada and India, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Base oil import volumes to the U.S. rose 10% in February.
Mexico, Brazil, Canada and Belgium were the biggest importers of U.S. base oils in February, but only Belgium took a higher volume than in February of 2022.
Exports to Mexico decreased 7% to 947,000 barrels, while Brazil’s take fell 38% to 259,000 barrels, Canada’s declined 16% to 230,000 barrels and India’s plummeted 62% to 43,000 barrels.
The volume shipped to Belgium jumped 31% to 143,000 barrels.
U.S. base oil imports increased to 1.4 million barrels in February, compared to 1.3 million barrels in the same month last year.
Canada and Indonesia sent more base oil to the U.S., and Qatar shipped a sizeable volume after exporting none in the same month last year. These offset sizeable decreases in imports from South Korea and Bahrain.
The volume from Canada rose 19% to 308,000 barrels, while Indonesia’s shipments swelled 6% to 154,000 barrels. Qatar exported 346,000 barrels of base oil to the U.S. in February.
South Korea and Bahrain were the countries experiencing the largest year-on-year decreases in base oil exports to the U.S. Imports from South Korea dropped 25% to 353,000 barrels, while the volume from Bahrain declined 28% to 139,000 barrels.