U.S. imports of Saudi Arabian oil dropped to zero in July, the first time that’s happened for an entire month since 1985, as the U.S.-Iran conflict all but shut down Persian Gulf crude flows, Bloomberg quoted preliminary government data as saying.
U.S. refiners were buying more than 600,000 barrels of Saudi oil a day earlier this year.
The agency said U.S. refineries have begun to look for alternatives to Saudi supplies, including light grades of oil from fields in the U.S.
Venezuela has become a major beneficiary in this situation, having supplied about 600,000 barrels of its oil in July compared to around 100,000 barrels at the beginning of the year.
