| U.S. Oil Consumption | U.S. Oil Production |
|---|
Basic statistics
Daily U.S. Oil Statistics
| U.S. Crude Oil Production | 5,064,000 barrels/day |
| U.S. Crude Oil Imports | 10,031,000 barrels/day |
| U.S. Petroleum Consumption | 20,680,000 barrels/day |
| U.S. Motor Gasoline Consumption | 9,286,000 barrels/day* |
| U.S. Total Petroleum Exports | 1,433,000 barrels/day |
- 9,286,000 barrels = 390 million gallons
There are several interesting things that these data represent. They show that the U.S. imports about double the crude oil it produces each day. Also, the U.S. exports only about 14% of what it imports. The fact that petroleum consumption is over four times the amount of crude oil production highlights just how dependent the U.S. is on foreign oil.
U.S. Monthly Imports for Oct. 2007-Sept. 2008
| Month | Imports (Thousand Barrels) |
|---|---|
| Oct. 2007 | 402,396 |
| Nov. 2007 | 395,643 |
| Dec. 2007 | 398,950 |
| Jan. 2008 | 418,274 |
| Feb. 2008 | 365,509 |
| Mar. 2008 | 389,065 |
| Apr. 2008 | 397,556 |
| May 2008 | 398,714 |
| June 2008 | 401,007 |
| July 2008 | 404,983 |
| Aug. 2008 | 404,853 |
| Sept. 2008 | 345,361 |
These data are important so that fluctuations in oil production throughout the year can be seen. It does not appear that there are many large fluctuations. There is a relatively large rise between December 2007 and January 2008, and then a subsequent drop from January 2008 to February 2008. These are possibly just the effects of seasonal changes and activities. There is also a significant drop between August 2008 and September 2008. These fluctuations indicate good time periods to research to learn more about why the U.S. consumes more at certain times or produces less at certain times of the year. After considering the fact that the fluctuations in monthly production on the U.S. Oil Production due not match up with the fluctuations above, it can be concluded that the increase in imports is most likely due to increased consumption.
Where U.S. oil comes from
Top 5 Countries of Origin for U.S. Oil
| Rank | Country | Annual Imports (Thousand Barrels) | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 895,976 | 18.23% |
| 2 | Mexico | 559,304 | 11.38% |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 541,987 | 11.03% |
| 4 | Venezuela | 496,684 | 10.10% |
| 5 | Nigeria | 413,932 | 8.42% |
| Total | 4,915,957 |
These data provide a good view of where U.S. oil imports really come from. It is clear that the two major countries are actually just our neighbors. The top five, surprisingly, only contains one country from the Middle East. This ranking helps better frame the impact of events in the news.
U.S. Imports - OPEC v.s Non-OPEC
| Annual Imports (Thousand Barrels) | % of Total | |
|---|---|---|
| OPEC | 2,182,607 | 44.40% |
| Non-OPEC | 2,733,350 | 55.60% |
| Total U.S. Imports | 4,915,957 | 100% |
OPEC - a cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
These data show that OPEC does supply a very significant portion of U.S. oil. Though not quite half, their stake is large enough where they can make threats, so we must pay close attention to any news involving OPEC.
Statistics were taken from EIA Website.
U.S. Oil Consumption v.s. the Rest of the World
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
As these images clearly show, the U.S. far exceeds any other country in oil consumption. It is currently consuming 25% of the amount that the world as a whole is consuming. Looking at the line graph for oil consumption by country, it can easily be seen that the U.S. consumes much more oil than its two closest competitors, Japan and China, and it continues to grow in oil consumption. The bottom graph is particularly telling. It demonstrates that the U.S. alone consumed more oil than the next 20 oil-consuming countries combined. This begins to develop the picture of why the U.S. oil situation is in bad shape.







