The United States was a net oil importer for part of 2020

The United States became a net oil importer again in part of 2020, the International Energy Agency (EIA) reported.

The United States imported more crude oil and petroleum products than it exported in May and June this year, briefly reversing the country’s 15-year trend to become a net oil exporter.

After being a net oil exporter for seven consecutive months from October 2019 to April 2020, the United States became a net importer, and United States net oil imports averaged 939,000 barrels per day (b/d) in May and 675,000 b/d in June.

On an annual basis, net oil imports to the United States have fallen from a peak of 12.5 million b/d in 2005 to 0.7 million b/d in 2019.

Today, the United States is a major producer and consumer of primary energy resources, and technological advancements in domestic shale oil and gas production have had a profound effect on global energy markets in recent years.

Net oil importer 

According to the EIA, the brief return to net imports was the result of declines in both US crude oil production and refineries that resulted in lower gross exports of crude oil and petroleum products due to lower global demand for oil and economic responses to Covid-19.

In April 2020, U.S. oil consumption fell to its lowest level in decades as responses to the pandemic led to a significant decrease in travel.

As demand for oil fell, both domestically and internationally, US refineries slowed their crude oil processing and produced smaller volumes of petroleum products.