Opec’s oil exports to US fall to five-year low in January

New York: 1.41 million barrels a day shipped to the US from Opec countries in January, the lowest in five years, according to data from cargo-tracking and intelligence company Kpler. Shrinking Iraqi imports and deep output cuts by Saudi Arabia fuelled the decline.

Less foreign oil is reaching American shores, as Opec production cuts kick in and US sanctions on Venezuela curb its exports. Venezuela’s exports to the US dropped by nearly 30 per cent. Nearly half of it has yet to discharge into US ports and US sanctions may keep the rest of it on the water. Nearly 7.6 million barrels of Venezuelan crude is floating in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Kpler.