Investing.com -- US imports of Saudi Arabian oil fell to zero in July, marking the first time an entire month passed without such shipments since 1985, preliminary government data showed.

The halt in Saudi oil exports to the US stems from disruptions caused by the US-Iran conflict, which has largely shut down Persian Gulf crude flows. US Department of Energy data released Wednesday confirmed that US-bound shipments of Saudi crude stopped completely last month. The drop represents a sharp change from earlier this year, when US refiners were purchasing more than 800,000 barrels of Saudi oil daily.

US refiners have been looking for alternatives to Saudi cargoes as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and other war-related disruptions pushed up prices for barrels tied to the global benchmark. Phillips 66 reduced the share of Middle Eastern crude flowing into its plants to less than 1%, Chief Executive Officer Mark Lashier said Wednesday. The company has been sending light crude from US fields to its New Jersey refinery to replace some foreign grades.

Other US refiners that have historically relied heavily on Saudi oil include Chevron Corp. and PBF Energy Inc.. Motiva Enterprises LLC, which owns the nation's largest refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, is wholly owned by the Saudi state oil company and typically processes Mideast oil.

Venezuela has benefited from the shift away from Saudi crude. American refiners imported around 600,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude in July, up from roughly 100,000 at the start of the year.

While there have been occasional weeks when Saudi deliveries to the US dropped to zero, July was the first time they remained at that level for a full month in more than 40 years. US imports of crude from Saudi Arabia are forecast to rebound this month to about 300,000 barrels a day, in line with recent historic norms, according to Kpler data.