Kuwait Halted Oil Supplies to US First Time in 26 Years

Kuwait halted oil supplies to the United States, which continued for 26 years without interruption. The emirate explained that now it is more profitable to supply oil to Asian countries. Kuwait has halted crude oil supplies to the United States for the first time since 1992. It is reported by Bloomberg, quoting the Information Department of the US Department of Energy. As noted in the message, oil imports in the US from Kuwait fell to zero in early September. According to a source familiar with the situation, Kuwait redirected its supplies to higher-margin Asian markets. For example, in Asia they pay $ 80 per barrel, while in the US – $ 79, and in the EU – $ 76, the agency notes. In total, according to Bloomberg, Kuwait supplies 80% of its oil to Asian countries. State-owned Kuwait Petroleum, which sells oil, has not commented on this information yet. The website of the Information Department, US Department of Energy, reports a reduction in United States imports of Kuwaiti oil. According to the data agency published on September 28, in July Kuwait exported to the United States 63 thousand barrels per day. In the same month last year, the figure was 206 thousand barrels per day. The largest supplier of crude oil in July for the United States was Canada, which exported 356 thousand barrels per day. The peak of Kuwaiti oil supplies to the United States was between 2012 and 2014, when the country supplied up to more than 400 thousand barrels per day, Bloomberg said. Kuwait has continuously supplied oil to the United States since 1992. The year before, American troops had played a decisive role in freeing the emirate from the Iraqi army, which had captured it in the late 1990s. Moreover, deliveries were made, despite the continuing fires caused by the arson attacks of retreating Iraqis. РБК