The United States exported 16% more base oil in March – including hefty increases in volumes to India, Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Base oil imports to the country also rose – by 8% compared to the same month of 2023.
The U.S. is one of the world’s largest exporters of base oils, and the number reached 4.8 million barrels of base oil in March, up from 4.1 million barrels in the same month last year. For the quarter, exports totaled 12.1 million barrels, a 32% jump from 9.2 million barrels in the first quarter of 2022.
Shipments to the market with the top destination, Mexico, surged by 37% to 1.9 million barrels, compared to 1.4 million barrels.
Among the countries experiencing the largest year-on-year increases were India, Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates. U.S. base oil export volumes to India skyrocketed 454% to 227,000 barrels, while the volume sent to Ecuador reached jumped 177% to 130,000 barrels, and the volume to the U.A.E. rose 102% to 109,000 barrels.
The 335,000 barrels of U.S. base oil exports to Israel represented a 5% from March 2023, represented the first time the monthly volume topped 27,000 barrels since last March.
Base oil imports reached 1.4 million barrels in March but were still down 6% for the quarter to 3.7 million barrels. Imports from Canada fell 32% to 256,000 barrels, while those from Indonesia fell 36% to 102,000 barrels, and shipments from South Korea dropped 47% to 276,000 barrels.
The one major market with an uptick was Qatar, from which the U.S. imported 535,000 barrels from in March, a 353% jump from 118,000 barrels.