A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration says the U.S. has become a net energy exporter, but only because production levels in the Gulf Coast have offset energy imports to other regions.
The U.S. became a net exporter of petroleum—crude oil and petroleum products—in September for the first time since monthly records began in 1973, the report notes.
According to the most recent data, exports exceeded imports by about 772,000 barrels of oil per day in November. Yet most regions—the Midwest, East and West coasts, and the Rocky Mountains—are all net importers.
Axios reports that this does not mean the U.S. is “energy independent” as many, including President Donald Trump, have claimed.
The country actually remains a net importer of crude oil, importing 5.8 million barrels per day and exporting only 3 million, according to the latest monthly data from November. However, the Gulf Coast region is the only net exporter of crude oil, exporting 2.9 million barrels per day and importing 1.2 million in mostly heavy, high-sulfur crude oil that the coast’s refineries process.
Outside of crude oil, the volume of exports of petroleum products, like distillate fuel, gasoline and jet fuel, is what allows the U.S. to be declared a net energy exporter. Petroleum products have an export margin of roughly 3.6 million barrels per day as of November.
Gasoline exports, most of which come from the Gulf Coast, have also helped offset imports to other regions, namely the East Coast.
The EIA is projecting net petroleum exports will average 0.8 million barrels per day in 2020, increasing again in 2021 to 1.4 million—marking the first full years where the U.S. is a net exporter. Yet, the agency is also predicting the U.S. will remain a net importer of crude oil during those years, decreasing from 3.9 million barrels per day in 2020 to 2.9 million in 2021. See the data here.
