Under the radar: Saudi oil exports to U.S. fall to 22-year low

Further, Saudi Arabia now ranks fifth in oil exports to the U.S., behind: Canada, 2 million bpd; Mexico, 1.06 million bpd; Venezuela, 1.01 million bpd, and Nigeria, 877,000 bpd. Iraq is sixth, exporting 500,000 bpd to the U.S. Farther down the list is Russia, exporting 229,000 bpd to the U.S.

This year, Saudi exports to the U.S. have averaged 1.02 million bpd, which is substantially lower than the roughly 1.5 million bpd average over the past 10 years, 1999-2009.

What's the reason(s) for the decline? Undoubtedly, the U.S. recession (which has reduced oil demand), has been a large factor, as Mexico, Venezuela, Nigeria, and Russia are all exporting less oil to the U.S. in 2009 than they did a year ago (Nigeria's production also has been hurt by civil conflict). Canada is exporting more, however -- 2 million bpd compared to about 1.87 million bpd a year ago (to view the 1973-2009 history of each nation click here, and then access the view history link on the page's far right column). Pricing, the abundance of closer sources, and OPEC quotas, also may be playing a role in the reduced Saudi exports.

Oil Analysis: The Saudi export decline also begs another question: if the export decline continues, what impact will that have on the complex U.S./Saudi relationship? But before exploring the aforementioned, perhaps it's best to wait until the U.S. economic recovery strengthens, to see what happens to Saudi exports to the U.S.: they have rebounded from substantial one-year declines before: in 1986, 1991, and 1994.