Saudi Arabia Tops U.S. Oil Import List

Saudi Arabia is far ahead of the pack as the top crude oil supplier to the U.S. market in March, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. Saudi Arabia exported 1.474 million bpd of crude to the U.S. in March, up 246,000 bpd from the month before and 107,000 bpd above last year's average, based on EIA data. Mexico jumped two spots to second place with oil exports of 1.246 million bpd, pushing Canada and Venezuela down to tie for third place with shipments of 1.209 million bpd each. Iraqi oil imports dropped by more than one-third in March to 468,000 bpd from 719,000 bpd the month before, while Nigerian oil imports soared 55 percent to 994,000 bpd from 642,000 bpd in February. Total U.S. crude oil imports were 8.661 million bpd in March, up 7 percent from 8.096 million bpd in February, the EIA said.