Wouldn’t it make most economic sense to just sell to our own countries in that case if there’s some standardized barrel price?
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“Oil” isn’t just one thing. It is tempting to lump oil together into one commodity but there is actually a range from extra-heavy to extra-light, as well as “sweet” and “sour” referring to sulfur content. The US is set up to be able to refine the nastiest, thickest, most sour oil out there. However the resurgence of fracking has made light, sweet oil more available. This means it can make sense for the US to import some kinds of oil and export oil instead of refining it themselves.
When you see countries both importing and exporting oil it is most likely down to this kind of difference in the underlying good.
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