The United States produces more oil than any other country, averaging about 13.5 million barrels per day in 2024. But it still imports roughly 6.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, mostly because American refineries need specific types of oil that domestic wells don’t always produce. The result is a complex supply picture where the U.S. is simultaneously the world’s largest oil producer, a major importer, and a net exporter of total petroleum products.
Canada Dominates Foreign Supply
Canada is by far the single largest source of imported crude oil, supplying nearly 60% of all U.S. crude imports. In 2024, Canadian imports averaged about 4 million barrels per day. Combined with Mexico, these two neighbors accounted for more than 71% of all crude oil entering the country.
After Canada and Mexico, the remaining top suppliers are Brazil, Colombia, and Iraq, each sending roughly 200,000 barrels per day or less. Saudi Arabia, once a dominant supplier, now accounts for a much smaller slice. The overall trend has been a sharp shift away from Middle Eastern oil toward Western Hemisphere sources over the past two decades.
OPEC nations collectively supply a shrinking share of U.S. imports. In 2022, Saudi Arabia and Iraq together made up about 11% of total petroleum imports. Canada alone, at 52%, dwarfs the entire OPEC contribution.
Why the U.S. Imports Oil It Doesn’t Technically Need
This is the part that confuses most people. If the U.S. produces so much oil, why import any at all? The answer comes down to chemistry and infrastructure. American shale wells, particularly in Texas and New Mexico, produce mostly light, sweet crude oil. But many U.S. refineries, especially along the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest, were built decades ago to process heavy, thick crude oil. Retooling those refineries would cost billions.
Canadian oil sands produce exactly the heavy crude these refineries are designed to handle. More than 99% of crude oil imports to the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions come from Canada, thanks to geographic proximity and an extensive network of pipelines and rail connections. Canadian heavy crude imports have increased 67% since 2011 as Canadian production has grown and U.S. refineries have leaned further into that supply.
Meanwhile, much of the light crude produced domestically gets exported to refineries overseas that are built to process it. In 2023, the U.S. exported about 4 million barrels per day of crude oil alone. Total petroleum exports, including gasoline, diesel, and other refined products, hit 10.15 million barrels per day, shipped to 173 countries. Total petroleum imports were 8.51 million barrels per day, making the U.S. a net exporter by about 1.64 million barrels per day.
Where Domestic Oil Comes From
The Permian Basin, a massive geologic formation stretching across western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, is the engine of American oil production. Just 10 counties within the Permian Basin accounted for 93% of all U.S. oil production growth between 2020 and 2024. Those counties averaged 4.8 million barrels per day in 2024, representing 37% of total national output.
Two New Mexico counties, Lea and Eddy, drove over half of that growth on their own, adding nearly 1 million barrels per day. Martin and Midland counties in Texas contributed another 400,000 barrels per day. Texas and New Mexico together form the core of U.S. production, with North Dakota (the Bakken formation) and Alaska rounding out the top producing states, though at significantly lower volumes.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The U.S. maintains an emergency stockpile of crude oil stored in underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast. As of early 2026, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve held about 416 million barrels, well below its authorized capacity of 714 million barrels. At its peak in December 2009, the reserve held 726.6 million barrels. The stockpile was drawn down significantly in 2022 to help stabilize fuel prices, and refilling it has been a slow process. At current levels, the reserve could cover roughly two months of total crude imports if all foreign supply were suddenly cut off.
What This Means in Practice
The U.S. oil supply chain works less like a simple pipeline from source to consumer and more like a global trading operation. Domestic wells pump record volumes of light crude, much of which gets exported. Refineries import heavy crude from Canada and other countries to make the gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel Americans actually use. The country is technically energy independent on a net basis, exporting more petroleum than it imports, but it still depends heavily on Canadian oil to keep its refineries running at full capacity.
This arrangement means that disruptions to Canadian supply, whether from pipeline shutdowns, trade disputes, or policy changes, would have a more immediate effect on U.S. fuel prices than conflicts in the Middle East. The geography of American oil dependence has fundamentally shifted northward.