China was the top destination for the U.S.' crude oil exports during the first half of 2018, according to data released by the U.S.' Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Monday.
'Much of this crude oil went to destinations in Asia and Oceania such as China, South Korea, and India,' the statement said.
As U.S.' crude oil exports to China averaged 376 thousand barrels per day (tbpd) during the first six months of this year, this country became the top destination of American crude oil exports during that period.
While 111 tbpd of American crude went to South Korea and 89 tbpd was delivered to India, according to the EIA data.
While Asia was the top market receiving U.S. crude exports in the first half of 2018, 'Europe was the second-largest market for U.S. crude oil exports, led by Italy, the U.K. and the Netherlands,' the EIA said.
The U.S.' crude oil exports to those countries in the first half of 2018 was 165 tbpd, 138 tbpd and 122 tbpd, respectively, according to the data in the statement.
'Canada was the only major U.S. crude oil export destination where exports decreased, down slightly in the first half of 2018 compared with the same period in 2017,' the EIA said.
Canada was the second-largest country for American crude oil, as exports to this country averaged 334 tbpd in the first half of this year, the data showed.
The EIA also said crude oil surpassed hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) in the U.S. to become the country's largest petroleum export in the first half of this year.
The U.S. exported an average of 1.8 million bpd of crude oil in the first half of 2018, the EIA said.
Crude oil exports of the U.S. rose by 787 tbpd in the first half of this year, marking an almost 80 percent increase from the first half of 2017, it added.
In addition, the U.S.' crude oil exports also set a new monthly record of 2.2 million bpd in June, according to the EIA.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr