Latin America more reliant on fuel imports from the U.S. over last five years

The growing demand for fuel and a lack of adequate refining facilities are blamed as Latin American nations become more and more reliant on the USA for fuel imports

Figures reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that 1.36 million barrels per day were being purchased by the biggest Latin American importers. In 2008 the region was importing around half of this amount, close to 657,000 barrels per day. According to a report by Reuters, the twelve primary Latin American fuel importers spent a total of $65bn on US fuel in 2012.

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The shale gas exploration explosion in the US has reduced the demand for crude oil imports from its Latin American neighbours. Since 2008, imports from South America to the US have been reported to have fallen by 18.6 percent. There are currently around 2.4 million barrels of crude oil being exported to the US per day.