How much petroleum does the United States import and export?

In 2016, the United States imported approximately 10.1 million barrels per day (MMb/d) of petroleum from about 70 countries. Petroleum includes crude oil, natural gas plant liquids, liquefied refinery gases, refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel fuel, and biofuels including ethanol and biodiesel. About 78% of gross petroleum imports were crude oil.

In 2016, the United States exported about 5.2 MMb/d of petroleum to 101 countries. Most of the exports were petroleum products. The resulting net imports (imports minus exports) of petroleum were about 4.9 MMb/d.

The top five source countries of U.S. petroleum imports in 2016 were Canada, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Colombia.  

 

Top sources and amounts of U.S. petroleum imports (percent share of total), respective exports, and net imports, 2016 million barrels per day
Import  sources	Gross imports	Exports	Net imports
Total, all countries	10.06	5.19	4.87
OPEC countries	3.45 (34%)	0.22	3.23
Persian Gulf countries	1.76 (18%)	0.02	1.74
Top five countries1
Canada	3.80 (38%)	0.87	2.93
Saudi Arabia	1.11 (11%)	0.00	1.10
Venezuela	0.80   (8%)	0.08	0.72
Mexico	0.67   (7%)	0.88	-0.21
Colombia	0.48   (5%)	0.15	0.34

¹ Based on gross imports by country of origin.

The top five destination countries of U.S. petroleum exports in 2016, export volume, and share of total petroleum exports

Mexico—0.88 MMb/d—17%
Canada—0.87 MMb/d—17%
Netherlands—0.29 MMb/d—6%
Brazil—0.26 MMb/d—5%
Japan—0.25 MMb/d—5%

Learn more:
How much oil consumed in the United States comes from foreign countries?
Petroleum (historical monthly and annual data for the United States)
Detailed historical data on U.S. petroleum imports and exports
Articles on U.S. petroleum production, imports, exports, and consumption
U.S. Oil Import Dependence: Declining no matter how you measure it
Measuring U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil: The What, Where, and When Factors

Last updated: April 4, 2017

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