U.S. petroleum exports slightly ahead of imports in first half of 2021

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. petroleum exports narrowly beat out imports in the first half of the year, sending out 120,000 more barrels per day (b/d) – less than 1 percent – than it took in.

Traditionally, the United States has been a net importer of crude oil and petroleum products, but that changed in 2020 when it became a net exporter. At that time, it pushed out 432,000 b/d of crude oil and petroleum products more per day than it imported, and while 2021 didn’t quite hit those heights, it continued the nation’s new trend of dominant exportation.

That said, in this space, the U.S. leans more toward petroleum than it does crude oil. It has been a net exporter of petroleum products alone since 2011, and its petroleum product exports averaged 5.5 b/d in the first half of 2021. That’s a leg up from the 5.3 b/d in the first half of 2020, although both imports and exports of select petroleum products largely consumed as transportation fuels – such as distillate fuel oil, motor gasoline, and jet fuel – actually decreased in 2020, compared to 2019.

Propane – another petroleum product – exports increased as Asia’s hunger for fuel sources rose, and U.S. demand for it fell. Today, propane is now the most prevalent U.S. petroleum product export by volume.

The United States remained a net importer of crude oil in the first half of 2021, with net imports of 2.9 b/d, even though imports have decreased in the first half of every year since 2017. This is largely due to rising exports, driven by the end of a crude oil export ban in 2015. Gross crude oil exports averaged 3 million b/d in the first half of 2021, compared to 3.2 million b/d in 2020.

Decreased figures in numerous areas could likely be attributed to economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to afflict the global economy.