U.S. Has Imported No Crude From Saudi Arabia, Iraq So Far in July -- OPIS

The United States has imported no oil from Saudi Arabia in each of the last three weeks, the longest stretch that crude from the kingdom has not come into the United States in at least 16 years, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

The data also shows that there have been no imports from Iraq for four weeks, an indication of how the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is disrupting typical crude trade patterns.

The EIA data show the United States last imported crude from Saudi Arabia during the week ending June 26, when imports from the kingdom averaged 56,000 b/d. There were no imports in the weeks ending July 3, 10 and 17, according to EIA data.

Imports from Saudi Arabia averaged about 283,000 b/d during the same three weeks last year, the EIA data show.

The U.S. last received imports from Iraq during the week ending June 19, when shipments averaged 71,000 b/d. Last year, U.S. imports from the country averaged 240,000 b/d for the last week of June and the first three weeks of July.

The decline in imports come as Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz has hampered exports from the two countries and disrupted global crude oil trade, with countries around the world scrambling to find supply.

Strong export demand has sent U.S. commercial crude oil inventories significantly lower, with supplies in recent weeks dipping below the 410 million bbl mark for the first time since March 2022, when crude markets were disrupted following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The drop in U.S. inventories come even as U.S. crude production remains at near record levels, averaging 13.832 million b/d over the past four weeks, EIA data show.

Some of the drop off in U.S. imports of oil from the Persian Gulf is being made up by crude coming into the country from Venezuela. Imports from that country have risen substantially since the United States eased sanctions following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro in January.

Venezuelan crude imports averaged 688,000 b/d in the week ending July 17, the highest weekly total since January 2019. Over the last four weeks, Venezuelan imports have averaged 614,000 b/d.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Donna Harris, dharris@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2026 11:37 ET (15:37 GMT)