The U.S. Energy Department said imports from OPEC increased year-on-year, with Saudi Arabia accounting for the bulk of additional oil. While oil production from the United States has increased, the data show the global market is still interconnected. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported the amount of petroleum imported from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was 3.57 million barrels per day in December, the last full month for which data are available from EIA. While only 0.5 percent higher year-on-year, the increase suggests the global energy market is still interconnected despite the success of shale. Imports from Venezuela, the No. 2 OPEC exporter to the United States, declined 22 percent from December 2012 to 846,000 bpd. Petroleum imports from Saudi Arabia in December, however, were 1.5 million bpd, a 47 percent increase year-on-year. For non-OPEC members, the United States imported about 1 million bpd from Mexico […]