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We still import more oil then we export but we're now refining that oil and selling it abroad keeping the value added at home. That's good economic news. Much of this has to do with the recession decreasing demand but the high price of oil has lead to a lot of new domestic exploration while laws have been passed which also helped to decrease domestic demand (higher CAFE standards, switching to Natural Gas from heating oil or oil fired power plants, etc...). For the 1st time since 1949 the US has exported more oil than it has imported (if this report is to be believed anyway).
Top U.S. export? Fuel (You read that right)
The last time the United States was a net exporter of fuels was in 1949, when Truman was president.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world's biggest gas guzzler, is -- wait for it -- fuel.
Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels.
Just how big a shift is this? A decade ago, fuel wasn't even among the top 25 exports. And for the last five years, America's top export was aircraft.
The trend is significant because for decades the United States has relied on huge imports of fuel from Europe in order to meet demand. It only reinforced the image of America as an energy hog. And up until a few years ago, whenever gasoline prices climbed, there were complaints in Congress that U.S. refiners were not growing quickly enough to satisfy domestic demand; that controversy would appear to be over.
Still, the United States is nowhere close to energy independence. America is still the world's largest importer of crude oil. From January to October, the country imported 2.7 billion barrels of oil worth roughly $280 billion.
Fuel exports, worth an estimated $88 billion in 2011, have surged for two reasons:
• Crude oil, the raw material from which gasoline and other refined products are made, is a lot more expensive. Oil prices averaged $95 a barrel in 2011, while gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon -- a record. A decade ago, oil averaged $26 a barrel, while gasoline averaged $1.44 a gallon.
• The volume of fuel exports is rising. The United States is using less fuel because of a weak economy and more efficient cars and trucks. That allows refiners to sell more fuel to rapidly growing economies in Latin America, for example. In 2011, U.S. refiners exported 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, up from 40 million gallons per day a decade earlier.
There's at least one domestic downside to America's growing role as a fuel exporter. Experts say the trend helps explain why U.S. motorists are paying more for gasoline. The more fuel that's sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home.
Gasoline supplies are being exported to the highest bidder, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.
Analysts say that overseas fuel sales are likely generating higher profits per gallon than the fuel sold in the United States. Otherwise, they wouldn't occur.
The value of U.S. fuel exports has grown steadily over the past decade, coinciding with rising oil prices and increased demand around the globe.
Developing countries in Latin America and Asia have been burning more gasoline and diesel as their people buy more cars and build more roads and factories. Europe also has been buying more U.S. fuel to make up for its lack of refineries.
And there's a simple reason why America's refiners have been eager to export to these markets: Gasoline demand in the United States has been falling every year since 2007. It dropped by another 2.5 percent in 2011. With the economy struggling, motorists cut back. Also, cars and trucks have become more fuel-efficient and the government mandates the use of more corn-based ethanol fuel.
The last time the United States was a net exporter of fuels was 1949, when Harry Truman was president. That year, the United States exported 86 million barrels and imported 82 million barrels. In the first 10 months of 2011, the nation exported 848 million barrels and imported 750 million barrels.
The last time the United States was a net exporter of fuels was in 1949, when Truman was president.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world's biggest gas guzzler, is -- wait for it -- fuel.
Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels.
Just how big a shift is this? A decade ago, fuel wasn't even among the top 25 exports. And for the last five years, America's top export was aircraft.
The trend is significant because for decades the United States has relied on huge imports of fuel from Europe in order to meet demand. It only reinforced the image of America as an energy hog. And up until a few years ago, whenever gasoline prices climbed, there were complaints in Congress that U.S. refiners were not growing quickly enough to satisfy domestic demand; that controversy would appear to be over.
Still, the United States is nowhere close to energy independence. America is still the world's largest importer of crude oil. From January to October, the country imported 2.7 billion barrels of oil worth roughly $280 billion.
Fuel exports, worth an estimated $88 billion in 2011, have surged for two reasons:
• Crude oil, the raw material from which gasoline and other refined products are made, is a lot more expensive. Oil prices averaged $95 a barrel in 2011, while gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon -- a record. A decade ago, oil averaged $26 a barrel, while gasoline averaged $1.44 a gallon.
• The volume of fuel exports is rising. The United States is using less fuel because of a weak economy and more efficient cars and trucks. That allows refiners to sell more fuel to rapidly growing economies in Latin America, for example. In 2011, U.S. refiners exported 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, up from 40 million gallons per day a decade earlier.
There's at least one domestic downside to America's growing role as a fuel exporter. Experts say the trend helps explain why U.S. motorists are paying more for gasoline. The more fuel that's sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home.
Gasoline supplies are being exported to the highest bidder, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.
Analysts say that overseas fuel sales are likely generating higher profits per gallon than the fuel sold in the United States. Otherwise, they wouldn't occur.
The value of U.S. fuel exports has grown steadily over the past decade, coinciding with rising oil prices and increased demand around the globe.
Developing countries in Latin America and Asia have been burning more gasoline and diesel as their people buy more cars and build more roads and factories. Europe also has been buying more U.S. fuel to make up for its lack of refineries.
And there's a simple reason why America's refiners have been eager to export to these markets: Gasoline demand in the United States has been falling every year since 2007. It dropped by another 2.5 percent in 2011. With the economy struggling, motorists cut back. Also, cars and trucks have become more fuel-efficient and the government mandates the use of more corn-based ethanol fuel.
The last time the United States was a net exporter of fuels was 1949, when Harry Truman was president. That year, the United States exported 86 million barrels and imported 82 million barrels. In the first 10 months of 2011, the nation exported 848 million barrels and imported 750 million barrels.
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