HOUSTON, April 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil imports and exports both increased during the week ending April 19, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 7.1 million barrels per day last week, up by 1.16 million barrels per day (b/d) from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged 2.7 million b/d, up by 280,000 barrels from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.6 million b/d, 19.6 percent less than the same four-week period last year, while crude oil exports averaged about 2.5 million b/d, up by about 673,500 b/d year-on-year.
According to the EIA's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, U.S. net imports of crude oil and petroleum products fell from an average of 3.8 million barrels per day in 2017 to 2.3 million barrels per day in 2018. The EIA forecast that the net imports will continue to fall to 1.0 million barrels per day in 2019.
The EIA also said that in the fourth quarter of 2020, the United States will become a net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products, with an export level of about 900,000 barrels per day.
