European hydrodealkylation margins well below breakeven since mid-September

The US exported an average of 657,000 b/d of crude oil to foreign markets in August, the second most exported in history, the US Energy Information Administration said Monday.

The majority of US exported crude is still going to Canada, but US crude is going to markets it has never been shipped to before, according to data in EIA's newest Petroleum Supply Monthly.

US crude was exported to 12 countries in August alone, including 452,000 barrels of US crude which was sent to Liberia and 411,000 barrels to South Africa, neither of which had received US crude before, according to the EIA.

March through August, over 100.5 million barrels of US crude was shipped to 22 countries. More than half, about 54.5 million barrels, was shipped to Canada.

Since all restrictions on US crude exports were lifted in December 2015, more than 122.6 million barrels of US crude have been exported, or about 495,000 b/d. August's crude export level was the most since May when an average of nearly 662,000 b/d were exported, the most ever.

Among the August data, some notable exports included a total of 649,000 barrels sent to Singapore, 1.02 million barrels to Colombia and 1.14 million to Italy, the most ever for those three markets.

The Marshall Islands, which has not received a shipment of US crude since April, will likely be a stop for US crude in the future, according to the EIA.

In a report last week, EIA said that a combination of infrastructure limits and low tanker rates are compelling US exporters to ship to the Marshall Islands.

"Currently, no US port is capable of loading the larger vessels typically used to transport crude oil, so US crude exporters must use more expensive smaller vessels," EIA wrote. "However, with lower tanker rates, exporters may be able to load smaller ships at US ports and transfer the cargoes onto larger vessels offshore for transport to final destinations at an attractive per-barrel cost."

EIA said this may explain why some crude exports in US Customs data shows US crude going to the Marshall Islands "where many vessels are registered but are unlikely taking deliveries."

The Marshall Islands, located roughly halfway between Hawaii and Australia, does not have a refinery or any crude storage tanks, but received nearly 1.53 million barrels of US crude in March and 557,000 barrels in April, according to EIA.