The United States consumed 20.7 million barrels per day (MMbd) of petroleum products during 2007 making us the world’s largest petroleum consumer. The United States was third in crude oil production at 5.1 MMbd. But crude oil alone does not constitute all U.S. petroleum supplies. Significant gains occur, because crude oil expands in the refining process, liquid fuel is captured in the processing of natural gas, and we have other sources of liquid fuel, including biofuels. These additional supplies totaled 3.6 MMbd in 2007. However, we still needed 13.5 MMbd of imported crude oil and petroleum products to meet U.S. demand. The United States also exported 1.4 MMbd of crude oil and petroleum products during 2007, so our net imports (imports minus exports) equaled 12.0 MMbd.
Petroleum products imported by the United States during 2007 included gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, jet fuel, chemical feedstocks, asphalt, and other products. Still, most petroleum products consumed in the United States were refined here. Net imports of petroleum other than crude oil were 10% of the petroleum consumed in the United States during 2007.
About Half of U.S. Petroleum Imports Come from the Western Hemisphere
Some may be surprised to learn that almost 50% of U.S. crude oil and petroleum products imports came from the Western Hemisphere (North, South, and Central America and the Caribbean including U.S. territories) during 2006. We imported only 16% of our crude oil and petroleum products from the Persian Gulf countries of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. During 2007, our five biggest suppliers of crude oil and petroleum products were:
- Canada (18.2%)
- Mexico (11.4%)
- Saudi Arabia (11.0%)
- Venezuela (10.1%)
- Nigeria (8.4%)
It is usually impossible to tell whether the petroleum products you use came from domestic or imported sources of oil once they are refined.
Lower U.S. Petroleum Imports Expected in the Future
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects U.S. crude oil and petroleum products imports will decline from 12.1 MMbd in 2007 to 8.3 MMbd in 20302 . Growth in total U.S. petroleum consumption is expected to remain relatively flat out to 2030. Meanwhile, The increase in U.S. crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, combined with increasing biofuel and coal-to-liquids (CTL) production, is expected to reduce the need for imports over the longer term. U.S. petroleum import dependence is projected to fall from 58% in 2007 to 41% by 2030.
1 See the EIA Glossary for comprehensive definitions of “petroleum,” “oil,” “petroleum products,” and “crude oil.”
2 Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2009, Table A11, DOE/EIA-0383(2009) (Washington, DC, March 2009).