U.S. Energy Information Administration Independent Statistics & Analysis www.eia.gov

The growing importance of U.S. petroleum and LNG 

exports

For

2018 EIA Energy Conference

June 4, 2018 | Washington, D.C.

By

Hannah Breul, Petroleum Markets Analysis Team Lead
Speakers

• Blake Eskew, Vice President, Oil Markets, Midstream, Downstream and 

Chemicals, IHS Markit

• Ryan Hickman, Senior LNG Market Analyst, Shell

• Saad Rahim, Chief Economist, Trafigura

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018 2
Annual U.S. total petroleum trade

million barrels per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

U.S. net petroleum trade (including crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas plant 

liquids) has fallen in recent years, reaching 3.7 million barrels per day in 2017

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

3

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

net

product

imports

crude oil 

imports

crude oil 

exports

product 

exports
Total U.S. crude oil and petroleum product exports

million barrels per day 2017 share of total exports

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

Total U.S. petroleum gross exports reached over 6 million b/d, with 

growth across many fuels

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Annual, Petroleum Supply Monthly

4

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017

other 

liquids 

hydrocarbon gas 

liquids 

petroleum

coke

residual 

fuel

distillate 

motor gasoline 

crude oil
Year-over-year change in crude oil and petroleum product exports

thousand barrels per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

The timing of export growth has varied across liquid fuels

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

5

-100

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2010 14 17 2010 14 17 2010 14 17 2010 14 17 2010 14 17

Crude oil Motor gasoline Distillate HGL Other liquids
U.S. crude oil exports

thousand barrels per day

Export destinations (2017)

thousand barrels per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

U.S. crude oil exports increased sharply in 2017 and were sent to more 

destinations, becoming the third-largest type of U.S. petroleum exports

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

6

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 0 200 400

rest of world

South Korea

Netherlands

United

Kingdom

China

Canada
U.S. crude oil destinations (2017)

thousand barrels per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

Aside from Canada, Asia and Europe are top destinations for U.S. 

crude exports

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

7

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

rest of world

Curacao

Malaysia

Bahama Islands

Colombia

Spain

India

Japan

Singapore

France

Italy

South Korea

Netherlands

United Kingdom

China

Canada

percent of U.S. total
U.S. distillate exports

thousand barrels per day

Export destinations (2017)

thousand barrels per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

Distillate exports have averaged more than 1 million b/d since 2012

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

8

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 0 200 400 600 800

rest of world

Peru

Netherlands

Chile

Brazil

Mexico
U.S. total motor gasoline exports

thousand barrels per day

Export destinations (2017)

thousand barrels per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

Gasoline exports are primarily sent to Mexico

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

9

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 0 200 400 600

rest of world

Ecuador

Brazil

Canada

Guatemala

Mexico
U.S. propane exports

thousand barrels per day

Export destinations (2017)

thousand barrels per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

Unlike distillate and gasoline, propane is sent primarily to Asian 

markets

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly

10

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 0 100 200 300 400

rest of world

Netherlands

Singapore

China

Mexico

Japan
U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas

billion cubic feet per day

Hannah Breul, Washington, D.C., 

June 4, 2018

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas reached 1.94 billion cubic feet per 

day in 2017, up from 0.5 Bcf/d in 2016

Source: U.S. Energy Information, Natural Gas Monthly

11