After having lost energy independence, the U.S. could be the next big exporter of crude oil.
Key Details
- U.S. crude oil exports haven’t outnumbered imports since World War II, but that could be changing as the country has been heavily exporting oil.
- The U.S. is selling a record 3.4 million barrels per day of crude oil to other nations, but the U.S. consumes 20 million barrels of crude a day, outnumbering the output.
- Last month, net U.S. crude oil imports fell to 1.1 million barrels per day which, according to U.S. government data, could lead to the U.S. being a net exporter.
Why it’s news
The United States is on its way to becoming one of the next biggest exporters of crude oil.
Over the last few years, the U.S. has become a big exporter of crude oil, sending more than 3 million barrels daily. It is the leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, where growth is expected to take off in the next few years.
The U.S. consumes the most oil in the world, but last month’s imports dropped to the lowest level since records have been recorded in 2001, all while the U.S. has been pushing out large amounts of oil.
The country’s big exports are due to the war in Ukraine, which has caused many countries to stop buying oil from Russia and purchase it elsewhere, driving demand for U.S. oil to rise.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spurred new demand for U.S. energy and should push oil exports above imports late next year, assuming shale output accelerates,” says market analyst Rohit Rathod.
The demand for U.S. oil will continue to rise next year, so the U.S. will have to start producing more oil.
The country is already one of the top oil producers, but the fields have been slow recently. The overall output of oil should reach 12.34 barrels of oil per day for the U.S. next year, but only if prices are high enough to consider workers to continue drilling.
“Russia has proven to be an unreliable supplier,” says Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge. “That really creates a wonderful opportunity for American producers and American energy.”