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Bloomberg
Opec crude oil shipments to the world’s largest economy sank to a thirty-year low as part of an effort by the cartel and its allies to balance supplies and counteract America’s shale boom.
Opec supply cuts that started in 2017 were extended in 2018. The end result was Saudi Arabia cutting exports to the US by 9 percent to about 870,000 barrels a day in 2018. Opec as a whole sent 17 percent less than the year before, and the least since 1987, according to the latest US
government data.
Rapid production growth in the prolific Permian oil patch also sapped interest among US refiners for Opec’s deliveries. With the help of light oil, US crude production hit a record 12 million barrels a day and is expected to grow more into 2020.
An abundance of supply from shale wasn’t only to blame for Opec’s withering exports to the US. Venezuela has been struggling to maintain its production which reached the lowest levels since 1940s.