U.S. Dominates Global Gas Exports
The United States is the world’s largest gasoline exporter (U.S. Energy Information Administration).
The numbers: “U.S. motor gasoline exports in 2023 averaged 900,000 barrels per day (b/d), equivalent to about 10% of domestic consumption and enough to fill up the tanks of over 1.5 million SUVs per day, assuming an average tank size of 24 gallons.”
- The U.S. supplies more than 16% of total global exports of motor gasoline—including finished gasoline and gasoline blending components.
The trends: For more than five decades between 1961 to 2015, the United States was actually a net importer of gasoline, bringing in motor gasoline from other nations around the world.
- Yet during the past decade, increases in refinery capacity and growing production from existing refineries has led to a greater supply of motor oil, even as American consumption of gasoline has stayed flat.
- With a larger supply and stable demand, more U.S. gasoline has been available for export.
Where it’s headed: The United States sends more than half of its motor gasoline exports to Mexico, with more than half a million barrels per day headed south of the border. Most of the remaining gas exports are sent to countries in Central and South America.