U.S. Crude Oil Stays in the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2011, 99.7 percent of the crude oil produced in (or imported into) the United States was also consumed here, which means less than one-half of one percent (0.3 percent) was exported. Simply put, the United States does not export crude oil in any significant way.

The United States Exports Very Little Gasoline. Of the total on-road fuel produced in the United States in 2011, 92 percent of it was refined and consumed in the United States; only eight percent was exported. And of all the petroleum products that the United States does export, finished motor gasoline only represents about 21 percent. The majority of exported products (79 percent) are things like propane, ethanol, he... more »

The faltering economy appears to be a primary reason for a slight drop in U.S. gasoline demand. According to API's Monthly Statistical Report issued this morning, U.S. gasoline deliveries (a measure of demand) fell by 0.03 percent in July as compared to the same period a year ago. Except for 2008, it was the lowest July gasoline demand figure since 2003.

"With unemployment high and July regular gasoline prices more than 20 cents a gallon above those a year ago, consumers likely have been shopping and vacationing less and trimmed their gasoline purchases accordingly," said API Chief Economist John Felmy.

Overall demand for oil products rose 3.8 percent in July over the same month last year. Demand for the type of diesel fuel used in trucks was up significantly.

"This suggests some growth in... more »

According to API's monthly statistics report, July oil product deliveries--a measure of demand--fell 3.0 percent from a year ago, which slowed the rate of decline by half compared with the first half of the year.

Despite the overall decline in product deliveries, gasoline deliveries rose a modest 0.8 percent, and distillate fuel oil deliveries (including diesel fuel) marked their first month in almost two years without a significant dip. Jet fuel deliveries fell nearly 12 percent from a year ago to their lowest July level since 1993, and residual oil deliveries dropped by more than one-fourth.

"The data are consistent with reports the economic downturn may be flattening out," said Ron Planting, manager, information and analysis for the American Petroleum Institute. "However, U.S. oil deman... more »

Here's an interesting factoid for you: America's reliance on imported oil has been falling. According to API's Monthly Statistical Report for June, imports fell 7.6 percent during the first half of 2009 as compared with the same period a year earlier. This drop was on top of two consecutive annual declines in crude oil and oil product imports in 2007 and 2008.

This means the United States is less reliant on other countries for oil these days; but hold the applause because this isn't necessarily good news. Imports have been falling largely due to weak domestic demand during the recession. In June, total imports of crude oil and oil products totaled 11.3 million barrels per day, the lowest for the month since 1999.

When the economy recovers, it's likely that imports will recover as more ener... more »

Oil and natural gas are found all over the world in varying amounts, and throughout history, about one trillion barrels of oil have been produced. While about one-third of our oil is produced domestically, where does our imported oil come from?

Consider this Energy IQ survey question:

In 2008, which of the following countries was the largest U.S. supplier of imported oil?

Test your Energy IQ to answer this question and others, and watch the video below to see how other people answered this question.

To the surprise of many, it turns out that our friendly neighbor to the north, Canada, is the largest U.S. supplier of imported crude oil, but more than half of the survey respondents believed that Saudi Arabia was our largest supplier. In fact, only 12 percent of the oil c... more »