US oil imports from Russia highest since 2013

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 22 Aug 2019 by Alex Teddy

The US Energy Information Administration stated on August 20 that US oil and petroleum imports are the highest since 2013. The US bought almost 62 million barrels of crude or petroleum from Russia from January to May 2019. This is almost a 10% increase on the equivalent period in 2018. Russian oil sales to the US were worth almost USD 3 billion in January to May 2019. The figure for January to May in 2018 was much lower partly due to lower prices. Russia is now the 8th largest oil exporter to the US. Venezuela previously occupied this 8th position. Looking at petroleum only (i.e. excluding crude) Russia is the second highest oil exporter to the US. Only Canada sells more petroleum to the US. US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have backfired inasmuch as they have strengthened Russia. Moscow opposes US sanctions on Venezuela since it is pressurizing a government that is very favorable to Russia. But for Russia this cloud has a silver lining.The US thinks it has economic leverage over Russia which to an extent it does. But if Russia refused to sell energy to the US then the US economy would be left reeling. Russia would need to find alternative export markets for its hydrocarbons. At the moment the other major market is China which is not big enough to absorb all the extra hydrocarbon capacity that would be freed up if Russia refused to sell to the United States. 95% of Venezuela's oil went to the US. Now Russia has picked up some of that slack in selling to the US. So far President Maduro in Venezuela is hanging on but additional sanctions on him in August 2019 have made his situation even more difficult.

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