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U.S. October imports of Saudi crude second lowest on

record

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Saudi crude imports by West Coast to more than halve this

year

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U.S. imports of Canada crude touch record highs after TMX

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. imports of crude oil

from Saudi Arabia hit a near four-year low last week, U.S.

government data showed on Wednesday, as Canada's Trans Mountain

pipeline sent more oil to the U.S. West Coast.

The $24.84 billion Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX) expansion

started in May, nearly tripling capacity to Canada's Pacific

Coast to 890,000 barrels per day and changing global trade

flows.

U.S. imports of Saudi crude fell to 13,000 bpd in the week

to Oct. 25, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration

data released on Wednesday. The imports were set to finish

October at 160,000 bpd, the second lowest month on record, data

from ship tracking firm Kpler showed.

West Coast refiners cut their Saudi crude imports to 23,000

bpd in October, the lowest on record, and the total for 2024

likely will average around 50,000 bpd, about 63% below last

year, according to the Kpler data.

Meanwhile imports of crude oil from Canada reached a record

high in July following the start of TMX .

Refineries owned by Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) in Los

Angeles and Anacortes, Washington, and by Phillip 66 in

Ferndale, Washington - all purchasers of Saudi crude last year -

have been large buyers of Canadian crude in 2024.

"Increased TMX flows into U.S. West Coast kept Saudi barrels

away from those markets," said Rohit Rathod, an analyst with

ship tracking firm Vortexa.

However, shipments of Saudi crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast are

expected to continue as Saudi Aramco supplies crude to

its Texas-based Motiva refinery.

Several supertankers carrying Saudi crude were headed to the

U.S. Gulf Coast, and the weekly import drop reflected in part

timing issues, Kpler analyst Matt Smith said.

Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, cut October

prices for flagship Arab light crude to Asia to a near

three-year low on demand concerns, while price cuts to the U.S.

were much smaller.

"Saudi Aramco was sending barrels to Asia and Europe in

August and they had to keep some barrels domestically for power

generation, hence, they cut the barrels going to North America,"

Rathod said.