Fueling Our Nation

The United States is one of the world's largest trading nations, with nearly $6 trillion in exports and imports of goods and services in 2021 (the latest year available). Of this, fuels as a single commodity account for a large portion of U.S.-international trade and transportation by vessel handled by the Nation's ports. In 2021, fuel (HTS 27) accounted for about $1.9 trillion (50 percent) by value and 1.6 billion short tons (17 percent) by weight of U.S. exports and imports transported by vessel, of which crude oil (HTS 2709) is the leading commodity. [1]

The United States imported about 2.2 billion barrels of crude oil in 2021, up about 80 million (3.6 percent) from 2020. The United States exported about 1.1 billion barrels of crude oil in 2021, down about 92 million (7.8 percent) from 2020. So far, the United States has imported more than 1.1 billion barrels of crude oil and exported 610 million between January and June 2022. The United States imports about 2 barrels for every 1 barrel exported. [2]

A standard U.S. barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil, which in turn yields about 44 gallons of petroleum products. About 19 gallons (43 percent) of gasoline, 10 gallons (23 percent) of diesel fuel, 4 gallons of jet fuel (9 percent), and 11 gallons of other products (25 percent) are refined from a barrel of crude oil. [3]

Crude oil, which is refined into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products, is primarily exported and imported by pipeline, rail, or truck from Canada or Mexico. Tanker vessels almost exclusively move crude oil and refined petrochemicals between the United States and the rest of the world (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc.). As shown in the following figures, Canada is by far the Nation's number 1 source of crude oil, accounting for about 1.4 billion barrels of crude oil (61.3 percent), followed by Mexico with about 212 million (9.5 percent) in 2021. Other leading sources of crude oil include Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Columbia. However, the United States no longer imports crude oil from Russia. [4]

The United States imported about 2.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas liquid in 2021, up about 256 million (10.0 percent) from 2020. The United States exported about 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2021, up about 1.37 trillion cubic feet (25.9 percent) from 2020. So far, the United States has imported more than 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and exported more than 1.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas between January and June 2022. [5] In 2021, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration, total annual U.S. natural gas exports were the highest on record, and the United States has been an annual net exporter of natural gas since 2017. [6] 

Specialized tank ships (aka tankers) are used to export U.S. natural gas liquid. These include compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and other liquefied chemical gases, which they are designed to safely carry in bulk.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2020, the top 5 natural gas-producing states by share of total U.S. natural gas production in 2020 included the following:

In 2020, U.S. natural gas production was about 10 percent greater than U.S. total natural gas consumption. The surplus U.S. natural gas was exported to other countries around the world. [7]

Domestically, natural gas primarily moves by pipeline, followed by water, then rail. Based upon 2020 FAF estimates, pipelines moved about 2,167,000 thousand tons (92 percent) of petroleum products, not elsewhere classified (SCTG 19). Water accounted for about 121,314 (5 percent) and rail accounted about 68,544 (3 percent). [8] 

 The U.S. import and export LNG ports are primarily located along the Gulf of Mexico. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, at the time of writing, there are currently 12 existing import and 8 existing export terminals. Additionally, there are nearly 50 proposed or approved terminals, but not yet built. [9]

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, more than 47 percent of total U.S. petroleum refining capacity and 51 percent of total U.S. natural gas processing plant capacity is along the Gulf coast. This region has the Nation's top maritime ports for U.S. crude oil imports and import by tonnage, including six ports in Texas (Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Freeport, Houston, Port Arthur, Texas City) and three ports in Louisiana (Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, New Orleans) as shown in the following figure. In 2020, Houston was the top maritime port for U.S. crude oil imports and for total tonnage. [10]  

Tankers, including chemical tankers, oil tankers, and gas carriers, are one of the most common vessel types in maritime trade & transportation. Additionally, tankers are one of the vessel types for which the BTS Port Performance Freight Statistics Program calculates dwell times.

For dwell time data and analysis, please visit the following webpage: Tanker Vessel Dwell Times (bts.gov). Additionally, tanker vessel dwell times for individual ports are shown in the online Port Profiles.  

[1] NOTES: Harmonized Tariff Schedule Chapter 27 (HTS 27) Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes. HTS 2709 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude. Conversion Factor: Kilograms to Short Tons =  907.18474. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Import & Export Merchandise Trade Statistics, available at U.S. International Trade Data - Foreign Trade - U.S. Census Bureau as of August 2022.

[2] U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics analysis of U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Crude Oil Im-/exports, available at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of September 2022.

[3] U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S. Refiners Produce about 19 Gallons of Gasoline from a Barrel of Oil (Fact #676: May 23, 2011), available at U.S. Department of Energy (energy.gov)  as of March 2022.

[4] U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics analysis of U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Crude Oil Im-/exports, available at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of September 2022.

[5] U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics analysis of U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Natural Gas Liquid Im-/exports, available at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of August 2022.

[6] U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Natural gas explained: Natural gas imports & exports (May 2022), available at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of September 2022.

[7] U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics analysis of U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Where our natural gas comes from? (December 2021), available at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of August 2022.

[8] U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Federal Highway Administration, Freight Analysis Framework 5, available at Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) (ornl.gov) as of August 2022.

[9] Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, LNG, Existing and Proposed Terminals, North American LNG Im-/Export Terminals – Existing, Approved not Yet Built, and Proposed (August 1, 2022), available at Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (ferc.gov) as of August 2022.

[10] U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Gulf of Mexico Fact Sheet, available at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of August 2022.

[11] U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, analysis based upon: Crude Oil: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, available at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as of August 2022. Tonnage: 2020 data, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center, special tabulation as of August 2022.