July a record-setting month for U.S. oil

Imports of petroleum products into the United States last month were the lowest they've been in 19 years, the American Petroleum Institute said.

API Chief Economist John Felmy said July was a record-setting month for several metrics tracked by the group, which represents the interests of the oil and natural gas sector.

For July, total imports of petroleum products declined 11.6 percent year-on-year to an average 9.1 million barrels per day, while crude oil imports of 7.5 million bpd represented a 7.2 percent decline.

Both figures represent 19-year lows for July, API said.

A report Wednesday from Bentek, the analytical division of Platts, credited production from shale basins in Texas and North Dakota for pushing U.S. imports to record lows.

API said total U.S. crude oil production in July increased 13.9 percent year-on-year to average 8.5 million bpd, the highest level for July since 1986.

In terms of U.S. petroleum deliveries, a benchmark API uses to measure demand, the 19.3 million bpd last month was a 1.3 percent increase from last year and the highest level for July in four years.