The U.S. is undoubtedly a global power among crude oil exporting nations. However, exports have never crossed the imports, especially since the second world war. If industry data is to be believed, in 2023, the country could be the net crude oil exporter.
Sources close to the U.S. government say the overall U.S. crude oil imports were nearly 1.1 million BPD. It is, in fact, the lowest value since 2001. About five years ago, the U.S. used to show import data beyond 7 million BPD.
The nation is the world’s biggest consumer of crude oil. So the idea of the U.S. becoming big exporter was instead a folly until recently. However, not in 2023, say experts.
What has brought a change in this scenario this year are sanctions impacting Russia’s oil and natural gas exports. It is also the aftermath of the recent Ukraine invasion. The other aspect is Washington’s massive oil release from emergency reserves to deal with ever-increasing gasoline prices.
“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,” informs Rohit Rathod, market analyst, Vortexa.
The nation already produces more oil as compared to others. However, the government must urgently focus on a few things to achieve it. The fundamental aspect to focus on is ensuring less consumption and more production.
The U.S. will be the world’s biggest exporter of LNG towards the first half of 2022. The nation was way ahead of Australia and Qatar.