Frequently Asked Questions
What are the products and uses of petroleum?
Petroleum products include transportation fuels, fuel oils for heating and electricity generation, asphalt and road oil, and the feedstocks used to make chemicals, plastics, and synthetic materials found in nearly everything we use today. About 75% of the 6.79 billion barrels of petroleum that we used in 2012 were gasoline, heating oil/diesel fuel, and jet fuel
Petroleum products and their relative share of total U.S. petroleum consumption in 2012:
- Gasoline 47%
- Heating Oil/Diesel Fuel 20%
- Jet Fuel (Kerosene) 8%
- Propane/Propylene 6%
- NGL & LRG1 6%
- Still Gas 4%
- Petrochemical Feedstocks 2%
- Petroleum Coke 2%
- Residual/Heavy Fuel Oil 2%
- Asphalt and Road Oil 2%
- Lubricants 1%
- Miscellaneous Products 0.4%
- Other Liquids 0.4%
- Aviation Gasoline 0.1%
- Special Naphthas 0.04%
- Waxes 0.04%
- Kerosene 0.02%
1 Natural Gas Liquids and Liquid Refinery Gases excluding Propane/Propylene.
Learn more:
U.S. Petroleum Products Supplied.
Last updated: April 2, 2013
Other FAQs about Crude Oil
- Do we have enough oil worldwide to meet our future needs?
- Does EIA have data on U.S. oil refineries and their locations?
- Does EIA have data on shale (or “tight oil”) production?
- Does EIA have data on the movement of crude oil and ethanol by rail and truck?
- Does EIA have data on the type or quality of crude oil processed in U.S. refineries?
- Does EIA have maps or information on the location of natural gas and oil pipelines?
- How dependent is the United States on foreign oil?
- How many gallons of gasoline does one barrel of oil make?
- How much coal, natural gas, or petroleum is used to generate a kilowatt-hour of electricity?
- How much does it cost to produce crude oil and natural gas?
- When was the last refinery built in the United States?
- Where is the boundary for state and federal offshore oil and gas production?
- Why don't fuel prices change as quickly as crude oil prices?
- Why is the United States exporting gasoline when prices are so high?
- How much of the oil produced in the United States is consumed in the United States?
- How much oil does the United States consume per year?
- How much oil is produced in Alaska and where does it go?
- How much oil is used to make plastic?
- How much petroleum does the United States import and from where?
- What are the differences between various types of crude oil prices?
- What are the products and uses of petroleum?
- What countries are the top world oil consumers?
- What countries are the top world oil net exporters?
- What countries are the top world oil net importers?
- What countries are the top world oil producers?
- What do I pay for in a gallon of regular gasoline?
- What is the difference between crude oil, petroleum products, and petroleum?
- What is the outlook for home heating fuel prices this winter?
- What types and amounts of energy are produced in each state?