Published October 22, 2019

U.S. Now Exports Crude Oil to More Places Than It Imports

As U.S. crude oil export volumes have increased to an average of 2.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first seven months of 2019, the number of destinations (which includes countries, territories, autonomous regions, and other administrative regions) that receive U.S. exports has also increased.


In 2009, the U.S. imported crude oil from as many as of 37 sources per month. In the first seven months of 2019, the largest number of sources in any month fell to 27. As the number of sources fell, the number of destinations for U.S. crude oil exports rose. In the first seven months of 2019, the U.S. exported crude oil to as many as 31 destinations per month.

This rise in U.S. export destinations coincides with the late 2015 lifting of restrictions on exporting domestic crude oil. Before the restrictions were lifted, U.S. crude oil exports almost exclusively went to Canada. Between January 2016 (the first full month of unrestricted U.S. crude oil exports) and July 2019, U.S. crude oil production increased by 2.6 million b/d, and export volumes increased by 2.2 million b/d.

VMA Valve Industry Buyers Guide banner - find U.S. and Canadian valve companies for your project
Valve Careers banner - connect top talent with top positions at valvecareers.vma.org
VMA Valve Forum 2026 banner - April 13-15 The Woodlands Texas annual event
Baker Hughes Optimize Service banner - proactively manage valve maintenance with VLM Cloud
Baker Hughes Optimize Service ad - track valve maintenance and identify spare parts with VLM Cloud