Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. imports of crude oil from Canada rose 5.4 percent in July to the highest monthly level in at least 36 years, according to the Energy Department.

Canadian crude oil imports averaged 2.11 million barrels a day, the most since the DOE began breaking down import records by country in January 1973. Canada is the largest exporter of crude oil to the U.S. and has increased the amount it ships as OPEC countries have cut back.

Imports from Canada in July rose 109,000 barrels a day from June, and 134,000 barrels a day, or 6.8 percent, from July 2008. More than 62 percent of the total was shipped via pipeline into the Midwest. The imports ranged from heavy, sour crude to light, sweet synthetic oil upgraded from so-called tar sands.

Canadian crude imports “have been growing steadily,” said Antoine Halff, head of energy research at Newedge USA LLC in New York. “It reflects a market reality that in the US some imported supplies are being displaced by Canadian production.”

Saudi Arabia, the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil to the U.S., shipped 1.14 million barrels a day in July, according to the department, after hitting a 20-year low of 902,000 barrels in June. Saudi exports were down 539,000 barrels a day, or 32 percent, from a year ago.

“Some imported supplies are being displaced by Canadian production, but on the flipside for the Saudis, the Asian market is a growth market,” said Halff. “It makes more sense to redirect some to China, where the profit margins are higher,” he said.

Poor demand has also cut the profit margin for crude from Saudi Arabia versus onshore Canadian supplies, he said.

OPEC Cuts

OPEC cut members’ output quotas 16 percent to 24.845 million barrels a day as crude futures fell to a four-year low of $32.40 a barrel in December 2008. Prices have more than doubled to $66.71 a barrel.

Total U.S. imports from OPEC members were little changed in July from the previous month. The group shipped an average of 4.28 million barrels a day in July, 23 percent less than in the same period last year.

The U.S. imported fewer cargoes from Mexico and Venezuela in July, according to the DOE. Venezuelan imports fell 27 percent from a year earlier to 865,000 barrels a day, and Mexico sent 985,000 barrels a day to the U.S., down from 1.2 million in July 2008.

Nigerian imports to the U.S. rose 12 percent in July to 858,000 barrels a day, the highest since March. Nigeria said yesterday it plans to ship more than 2 million barrels a day in November after output fell to the lowest in nearly 15 years in July because of rebel attacks on production facilities.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Burkhardt in New York at pburkhardt@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 29, 2009 16:39 EDT