Russian imports are banned, but the United States continues to import crude oil and refined products from other countries
ATLANTA — The United States has banned oil imports from Russia but continues to accept imports from other countries, some of which are the same countries that accept oil from the United States.
When it comes to gasoline, the United States is like a busy crossroads. The United States is one of the world’s leading producers of crude oil. While some products are refined and burned as gasoline here, the United States also ships some of its oil to as many as 180 other countries, primarily Mexico and Canada, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). United.
At the same time, Mexico, Canada and, in a typical year, Russia are among the countries that ship their oil here.
“We import a lot, we export a lot, but we also produce a lot domestically,” said Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.
Crude oil is bought and sold on a global market. According to the EIA, the major oil companies sell their product on a global market.
Most of what the United States produces comes from the Gulf Coast. The Energy Information Administration says it often makes more financial sense for Gulf refineries to export some of their gasoline to Mexico, rather than ship it to east coast regions that get cheaper product. from Europe.
“We have parts of the country that are more import dependent than other places in the country that are able to export significant amounts of crude oil and refined products,” Lipow added.
He said some refineries in the Gulf have also invested in equipment to process high sulfur crude.
“Imports from the Middle East are of the high sulfur heavy variety, and it’s cheaper to buy those types of crude oils and upgrade them,” Lipow concluded.
In 2020, when demand was low, Americans consumed about 18 million barrels of oil per day.
