How much petroleum does the United States import and export?
In 2020, the United States imported about 7.86 million barrels per day (MMb/d) of petroleum from about 80 countries. Petroleum includes crude oil, hydrocarbon gas liquids, refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel fuel, and biofuels (including ethanol and biodiesel). Crude oil imports of about 5.88 MMb/d accounted for about 75% of U.S. total gross petroleum imports in 2020, and non-crude oil petroleum accounted for about 25% of U.S. total gross petroleum imports.
In 2020, the United States exported about 8.50 MMb/d of petroleum to about 174 countries and 4 U.S. territories. Crude oil exports of about 3.21 MMb/d accounted for 38% of total U.S. gross petroleum exports in 2020. The resulting total net petroleum imports (imports minus exports) were about -0.63 MMb/d in 2020, which means that the United States was a net petroleum exporter of 0.63 MMb/d in 2020.
The top five source countries of U.S. gross petroleum imports in 2020 were Canada, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Colombia.
| Import sources | Gross imports | Exports | Net imports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total, all countries | 7.86 | 8.50 | -0.63 |
| OPEC countries | 0.89 (11%) | 0.06 | 0.83 |
| Persian Gulf countries | 0.77 (10%) | 0.04 | 0.73 |
| Top five countries1 | |||
| Canada | 4.13 (52%) | 0.93 | 3.19 |
| Mexico | 0.55 (10%) | 1.04 | -0.29 |
| Russia | 0.54 (7%) | 0.00 | 0.54 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0.52 (7%) | 0.01 | 0.51 |
| Colombia | 0.28 (4%) | 0.10 | 0.19 |
| Note: Ranking in the table is based on gross imports by country of origin. Net import volumes in the table may not equal gross imports minus exports because of independent rounding of data. | |||
The top five destination countries of U.S. total gross petroleum exports, export volume, and share of total petroleum exports in 2020 were:
- Mexico—1.04 MMb/d—12%
- Canada—0.93 MMb/d—11%
- China—0.72 MMb/d—8%
- Japan—0.52 MMb/d—6%
- India—0.47 MMb/d—6%
Learn more:
Detailed historical data on U.S. petroleum imports and exports
U.S. petroleum imports by country of origin
U.S. petroleum exports by destination
U.S. net petroleum imports by country
Today In Energy articles on oil/petroleum
This Week In Petroleum articles
Last updated: September 20, 2021, with data from the Petroleum Supply Annual, August 2021