How much petroleum does the United States import and from where?

The U.S. imported approximately 10.6 million barrels per day of petroleum in 2012 from about 80 countries. We exported 3.2 MMbd of crude oil and petroleum products, resulting in net imports (imports minus exports) equaling 7.4 MMbd. Net imports accounted for 40% of the petroleum consumed in the United States, the lowest annual average since 1991.

"Petroleum" includes crude oil and refined petroleum products like gasoline, and biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. In 2012, about 80% of gross petroleum imports were crude oil, and about 57% of all crude oil that was processed in U.S. refineries was imported.

The top five source countries of U.S. petroleum imports in 2012 were Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Russia. Their respective rankings vary based on gross petroleum imports or net petroleum imports (gross imports minus exports).  Net imports from OPEC countries accounted for 55% of U.S. net imports.

 

2012:  Top sources of imported petroleum to the United States million barrels per day and percent share of gross and net imports1
Import  sources	Gross imports	Exports to import source	Net imports
Total, all countries	10.596	3.184	7.412
OPEC countries	4.256 (40%)	177	4.078 (55%)
Persian Gulf countries	2.151 (20%)	0.088	2.144 (29%)
Top five countries2
Canada	2.955 (28%)	0.403	2.551 (34%)
Saudi Arabia	1.359 (13%)	0.001	1.358 (18%)
Mexico	1.031  (10%)	0.526	0.469 (6%)
Venezuela	0.952  (9%)	0.085	0.867 (12%)
Russia	0.477 (5%)	0	0.477 (10%)

Learn more:

• How dependent is the United States on foreign oil?
• Detailed historical data on imports and exports
• Measuring U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil: The What, Where, and When Factors
• U.S. Oil Import Dependence: Declining no matter how you measure it
• 2011 Year in Review (of Petroleum Markets)
• Refining Crude Oil: Inputs & Outputs
• Petroleum Overview graphs and data from the Monthly Energy Review
• U.S. imports of Nigerian crude oil have continued to decline in 2012

¹Based on net petroleum imports; preliminary data.
²Based on gross imports by country of origin.

Last updated: June 3, 2013

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