The US exported more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported during the week ending Nov. 30, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
The country thus became a net oil exporter for the first time since World War II, at the end of which US oil exports exceeded imports. By 1950, the US had become a net oil importer, a status unchanged until now.
But the margin is narrow and reflects only a single week’s data.
EIA estimates exports of oil—including crude, products, and fuel ethanol—in November’s last week at 9.049 million b/d, only 211,000 b/d above imports.
Crude-oil imports during the week exceeded exports by 4.016 million b/d, while product exports topped imports by 4.227 million b/d.
