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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.
 

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