US crude oil exports have retreated so far in 2025. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “after a modest upturn in 2024, when global crude oil loadings increased by +0.8% y-o-y, things got quieter in 2025. In Jan-Sep 2025, global crude oil loadings increased by +0.6% y-o-y to 1,652.2 mln tonnes, excluding all cabotage trade, according to vessels tracking data from LSEG. Exports from the Arabian Gulf were up by +0.9% y-o-y to 655.4 mln t in JanSep 2025, and accounted for 39.7% of global seaborne crude trade. Exports from Russian ports (including oil of Kazakh origin) instead declined by -0.8% y-o-y to 173.3 mln t in JanSep 2025, or 10.5% of global trade. From South America, exports surged by +7.6% y-o-y to 160.6 mln t. From the USA, exports went down by -10.3% y-o-y at 135.2 mln tonnes in Jan-Sep 2025. From West Africa, exports inclined by +2.7% y-o-y to 131.5 mln t. From ASEAN exports dropped by -11.2% y-o-y to 82.8 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025 (this inevitably includes transshipped Iranian and Russian cargoes)”.

Source: Banchero Costa

According to Banchero Costa, “in terms of demand, the top seaborne importer of crude oil in Jan-Sep 2025 was Mainland China, accounting for 22.5% of global trade. Volumes into China declined by -3.1% y-o-y to 367.7 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025, from 379.5 mln t in Jan-Sep 2024. Imports into the EU27 decreased by -3.4% y-o-y to 345.7 mln t, accounting for 21.2% of global trade. To ASEAN, imports increased by +6.3% y-o-y to 211.0 mln t. Imports to India continued to grow, thought at a slower by +1.0% y-o-y to 178.0 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025. To South Korea, imports declined by -1.6% y-o-y to 103.1 mln t. To Japan, imports declined by -1.4% yo-y to 82.1 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025. Imports into the USA declined -8.5% yo-y to 93.2 mln t in Jan-Sep 2025”.

Mitera_Marigo_Aframax_Oil_Tankerb

“The Unites States have been arguably the biggest winner from the sanction regime imposed on Russia and from OPEC’s attempt to support oil prices through cutting production quotas. Exports from the USA sharply increased in recent years, to the point that it is now the third largest exporter in the world, after Saudi and Russia. The USA now account for 8.2% of global crude oil loadings (excluding cabotage). Crude oil exports from the USA increased by +22.9% y-o-y in 2022 and by +19.5% y-o-y in 2023. 2024, however, was disappointing, with exports declining marginally by -0.3% y-o-y to 197.4 mln tonnes. 2005 so far has been even more disappointing, with exports in Jan-Sep 2025 down by -10.3% y-o-y to 135.2 mln tonnes, the lowest since 2022” the shipbroker said.

Source: Banchero Costa

“About 62 percent of international crude exports from the USA in Jan-Sep 2025 were loaded in Corpus Christi, about 13 percent from Houston, about 8 percent from Galveston, about 5 percent from Bayport, about 3 percent from LOOP, about 3 percent from Beaumont. Given persisting infrastructure limitations, still only 51 percent of crude oil volumes loaded at USA ports in Jan-Sep 2025 were loaded on VLCCs. Most VLCC cargoes are loaded in Corpus Christi, Galveston and LOOP. About 25 percent of volumes are loaded on Suezmaxes, and 21 percent isloaded on Aframaxes. In terms of destinations for the shipments, it is quite diversified, with about 41% to Europe, 39% to Asia, and the rest to the Americas and Africa. Direction Europe, about 45.1 mln tonnes(33.4 percent of the total) were shipped from the USA to the European Union in Jan-Sep 2025, whilst about 9.4 mln tonnes (7.0 percent of the total) went to the UK. Specifically, 13.4 mln tonnes were shipped in Jan-Sep 2025 to the Netherlands, 8.0 mln t to France, 7.8 mln t to Spain, 4.8 mln t to Italy, 4.3 mln t to Germany, 1.6 mln to Sweden, 1.5 mln to Denmark. Overall exports from the USA to the European Union declined by -18.8% yo-y in Jan-Sep 2025. Direction Asia, about 16.9 mln t were shipped from the USA to S. Korea in Jan-Sep 2025, down -0.2% y-o-y, and 11.6 mln t to India, up +31.8% y-o-y. To Mainland China volumes declined by -64.9% y-o-y in Jan-Sep 2025 to 3.7 mln tonnes, very far from the the 17.0 mln t in Jan-Sep 2023”, Banchero Costa concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide