The charts (yes, there are 2 this time 🙂 ) of this week combine an area plot whit a classical scatter by using of a secondary y-axis. They show the amount of crude oil, and petroleum products that the United States imports from Russia. Data comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
At the beginning of the month (March 08, 2022) the U.S. announced a ban on all imports of Russian oil (including petroleum products), liquified natural gas, and coal in response to Russia escalation at invading Ukraine. Historically, the U.S. has imported a very small share of crude oil from Russia. However, the picture is different for petroleum products –unfinished oils and fuel oil– for which the Russian share constitute a larger part for the U.S. Scroll down to find out exactly how much oil and petroleum products the U.S. imports from Russia.
Crude Oil
From the 6.11 million barrels a day that the U.S imported in 2021 only 0.2 million — around 3% — came from Russia.
- Total imports of crude oil to the U.S. peaked in 2005 at around 10 million barrels a day. Since then, the number has decreased as a result of both declining demand and domestic production increase.
- Russian imports have gone up and down over time but they have never been higher than 3.5%
Petroleum Products
The U.S. imported a total of 2.36 million barrels a day of petroleum products in 2021. Approximately 0.5 million barrels a day were coming from Russian. This is around 20% of the total, a much bigger share than the 3% for crude oil.
- Total imports of petroleum products peaked in 2005 (at around 3.5 million barrels a day) and then decreased consistently until 2012. Since 2012, they have remained more or less flat at around 2 million barrels per day.
- Russian share of those imports have increased steadily going from being less than 1% in 1994 to 20% in 2021.
Further Reading
- Oil Dependency and U.S. Foreign Policy 1850-2022: This is a fantastic interactive timeline prepared by the Council on Foreign Relations. I highly recommend it for a full history of the U.S. oil industry and its impact on foreign policy.
- America Produces Enough Oil to Meets Its Needs, So Why Do We Import Crude?: Brief article which answers the question in plain terms.