U.S. importing more oil from Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- Oil imports from Saudi Arabia for the first three months of 2014 were more than 30 percent higher year-on-year, the U.S. Energy Department said.

The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, published data Wednesday showing imports from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Saudi Arabia was the largest OPEC contributor to the U.S. market. For the first three month of 2014, Saudi crude oil imports averaged 1.45 million barrels per day, a 31 percent increase year-on-year.

Venezuela was the No. 2 source of crude oil among OPEC members. The 753,000 bpd for the first three months of the year was relatively on par with last year.

Total imports from OPEC, however, have declined. EIA said the United States imported on average 3.3 million bpd from OPEC for the three months ending in March, nearly 6 percent less than the same period in 2013.

Canada remains the top foreign source for oil in the U.S. market. EIA said the three-month average for Canadian imports was 3.2 million bpd, relatively consistent with last year. Mexico was the No. 2 non-OPEC contributor with 924,000 bpd imported on average for the first three months of 2014.