The rise in US oil exports leads to the withdrawal of crude from a storage center

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active US rigs drilling for oil was up by seven to 531 this week.

Traders said US oil exports have jumped in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that domestic oil that used to go to a storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, is being exported across the Gulf of Mexico coast, Reuters reported.

The invasion caused chaos in the oil market, as companies stopped buying Russian oil and prices skyrocketed. Buyers around the world are looking to get crude from anywhere as exports have increased in recent weeks from the United States, the world’s largest crude oil producer.

Cushing is where US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures holders receive their contracted volumes, and its huge storage capacity means it is still considered a guide to US stocks even as barrels shift to the Gulf after Washington lifted the US embargo on exports in 2015.

US Energy Department data showed US crude exports rose to 3.8 million barrels per day on March 18, the highest level since July 2021.

Cushing stocks currently stand at 25.2 million barrels, compared to a four-year low hit in early March.

US crude oil is attractive to global buyers because it is sold at a significantly lower price, close to seven dollars, than Brent crude.