Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) is the first major U.S. oil company to ship American crude overseas, to a refinery it owns in Sicily, Bloomberg reports.

 

Oil traders are shipping WTI crude to refiners in the Mediterranean to profit from the difference in prices between the two regions; a glut of WTI has pushed U.S. stockpiles to record highs, depressing the price relative to European Brent crude.

 

Overseas sales could relieve pressure on storage capacity in the U.S., after stockpiles rose to nearly 518M barrels last week, the highest level in official data going back to 1930.

 

Sources: Bloomberg via- Seeking Alpha