據油價網2021年4月29日休斯敦報道，美國能源信息署(EIA)的《本周石油》報告顯示，歐佩克+減產、石油總需求下降以及對外國輕質原油需求下降，導致去年美國從歐佩克進口原油的年進口量創下了1973年以來的最低水平。

　　據EIA估計，去年美國從歐佩克產油國的原油日均進口量僅為81.6萬桶。歐佩克+減產以及沙特阿拉伯有意減少對最透明的市場美國的原油出口，是去年美國從歐佩克進口原油創紀錄低位的原因之一。

　　另一個關鍵原因是，近年來美國原油產量的激增——使美國成為世界最大的原油生產國——主要是輕質和中質原油，因此自2005年以來，歐佩克或世界其他地方對輕質和中質原油的需求大幅下降。

　　EIA數據顯示，盡管從歐佩克進口的原油觸及歷史最低水平，但美國對加拿大重質原油的購買卻在增長，并繼續保持高位。

　　盡管美國國內原油產量飆升，但美國從非歐佩克成員國，尤其是加拿大的原油進口量仍相對較高，因為加拿大的原油種類豐富，而美國的頁巖油產區并不生產重質原油。

　　從2005年到2020年，美國從加拿大進口的原油平均增加了一倍多，達到360萬桶/天。

　　EIA稱，因此，加拿大在美國原油進口總額中所占份額增加，去年達到61%的創紀錄高位。

　　EIA稱，“美國從加拿大進口原油相對穩定，主要是加拿大原油生產和煉油經濟的長期趨勢所致。”

　　根據EIA的數據，自2005年達到峰值以來，美國原油進口總量已經下降了42%，2020年的平均進口量為590萬桶/天，為1991年以來的最低水平。

　　李峻 編譯自 油價網

　　原文如下：

　　U.S. Oil imports From OPEC Plunge To Lowest Since 1973

　　The OPEC+ production cuts, lower overall oil demand, and declining demand for foreign-sourced lighter crudes resulted in 2020 in the lowest annual American crude oil imports from OPEC in data going back to 1973, the Energy Information Administration’s ‘This Week in Petroleum’ note showed.

　　Last year, U.S. crude oil imports from OPEC producers averaged just 816,000 barrels per day (bpd), the EIA has estimated. The OPEC+ production cuts and the deliberate efforts from Saudi Arabia to reduce shipments to the most transparent market, the United States, played a role in last year’s record-low American oil imports from OPEC.

　　The other key reason was that the surging U.S. oil production in recent years—which made America the world’s top oil producer—was mostly of light and medium grades, so demand for such grades from OPEC or elsewhere in the world has significantly dropped since 2005.

　　While oil imports from OPEC hit the lowest on record, U.S. purchases of Canada’s heavy crude have grown and continue to remain high, the EIA data showed.

　　American imports from non-OPEC members, especially from Canada, have remained relatively high despite soaring domestic oil output, because of the heavy variety of Canada’s oil which the U.S. shale patch doesn’t produce.

　　Between 2005 and 2020, U.S. crude oil imports from Canada more than doubled to an average of 3.6 million bpd. As a result, Canada’s share of total U.S. crude oil imports increased and reached a record-high share of 61 percent last year, the EIA said.

　　“The comparatively stable U.S. crude oil imports from Canada are mostly the result of longer-term trends in Canada’s crude oil production and refining economics,” the EIA said.

　　Total American crude oil imports have dropped by 42 percent since their peak in 2005, and averaged 5.9 million bpd in 2020, the lowest level since 1991, according to EIA’s data.