HOUSTON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil imports decreased but exports soared during the week ending April 15, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report released on Wednesday.

       U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.837 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, down by about 159,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged about 4.27 million b/d, up by about 2.09 million b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

       Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.098 million b/d, up by 3.1 percent from the same four-week period last year.

       During the same period, crude oil exports averaged about 3.283 million b/d, up by 11.9 percent year on year.

       The United States has been one of the world's important oil producers in past years with the help of its shale oil production.