Key Takeaways
- In 2024, 61.7% of America’s crude oil imports were from Canada.
- Meanwhile, Mexico accounted for 7.1% of crude oil imports.
- Crude imports make up about 40% of the oil that is refined in America, much of which is heavier crude compared to America’s light oil.
For decades, America was a net importer of oil, but the shale boom shifted the balance in 2019.
But even with about a $65 billion trade surplus in petroleum trade, the U.S. needs crude oil imports. This is largely due to America’s refinery operations, with heavier crude from other countries enabling higher output and efficiency.
This graphic shows the largest suppliers of U.S. crude oil imports, based on data from the Energy Institute.
U.S. Crude Oil Imports in 2024
In the table below, we show where America gets its crude oil imports, measured in thousands of barrels per day (b/d):
| Country / Region | Crude Oil Imports 2024 Thousand b/d |
Share |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 4,072 | 61.7% |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 465 | 7.1% |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 273 | 4.1% |
| 🇮🇶 Iraq | 198 | 3.0% |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | 38 | 0.6% |
| 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 22 | 0.3% |
| 🌎 S. & Central America | 1,075 | 16.3% |
| 🌍 West Africa | 245 | 3.7% |
| 🌍 North Africa | 96 | 1.5% |
| 🇪🇺 Europe | 74 | 1.1% |
| 🌐 Other CIS | 38 | 0.6% |
Despite America pumping out roughly 13.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, a record, it also relies heavily on Canadian crude imports.
Since 2013, these imports have increased from 33% of total crude imports to 61.7%. Driving this increase is higher pipeline capacity, lower prices, and greater Canadian production.
As the second-largest country for crude imports, Mexico shipped 465,000 barrels per day, thanks to both its proximity and supply of heavier crude oil. Today, American refineries operate most efficiently with a mix of heavy and light crude.
Following behind is Saudi Arabia, the largest OPEC member supplying crude to America, covering 4.1% of the total.
