How much petroleum does the United States import and export?
In 2018, the United States imported about 9.94 million barrels per day (MMb/d) of petroleum from nearly 90 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 accounted for about 78% of U.S. gross petroleum imports in 2018, and non-crude oil petroleum accounted for about 22% of gross petroleum imports.
In 2018, the United States exported about 7.60 MMb/d of petroleum to about 190 countries and 4 U.S. territories, of which about 27% was crude oil and 73% was non-crude oil petroleum. The resulting net imports (imports minus exports) of petroleum were about 2.34 MMb/d.
The top five source countries of U.S. petroleum imports in 2018 were Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq.
| Import sources | Gross imports | Exports | Net imports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total, all countries | 9.94 | 7.60 | 2.34 |
| OPEC countries | 2.89 (29%) | 0.31 | 2.58 |
| Persian Gulf countries | 1.58 (16%) | 0.05 | 1.53 |
| Top five countries1 | |||
| Canada | 4.29 (43%) | 1.02 | 3.27 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0.90 (9%) | <0.01 | 0.90 |
| Mexico | 0.72 (7%) | 1.19 | -0.48 |
| Venezuela | 0.59 (6%) | 0.12 | 0.46 |
| Iraq | 0.52 (5%) | <0.01 | 0.52 |
| Note: Ranking in the table is based on gross imports by country of origin. Net imports 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. petroleum exports, export volume, and share of total petroleum exports in 2018 were
- Mexico—1.19 MMb/d—16%
- Canada—1.02 MMb/d—13%
- Japan—0.47 MMb/d—6%
- Brazil—0.40 MMb/d—5%
- South Korea—0.38 MMb/d—5%
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: October 4, 2019