As China’s domestic energy consumption has grown, the country has become a significant destination for US energy exports. Namely, China has been among the largest importers of US exports of crude oil, propane, and LNG.
In 2017, more US crude oil was sent to China than any other destination except Canada. China has also been the world’s largest net importer of total petroleum and other liquid fuels since 2013 and surpassed the United States as the world’s largest gross crude oil importer in 2017.
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China’s imports of US crude oil increased, averaging 330 thousand barrels per day in 2018. In February 2018, China received more US crude oil than any other destination.
Overall, about 50% of US propane exports went to Asian countries in 2017, displacing supplies from Middle Eastern countries and some regional production of propane.
So far in 2018, China is the third-largest destination for US propane exports, receiving 92 thousand barrels per day through April, or 31% less than US propane exports to China in the first four months of 2017.
Based on data through April 2018, China’s imports of US LNG have averaged 0.4 billion cubic feet per day, behind South Korea and Mexico. The next-largest importer of U.S. LNG, India, has received less than half US LNG as China so far in 2018.
