“Why does the US import so much oil when they are the world’s largest exporter of it?”

Question

I keep hearing over and over that the US imports all of its gasoline and raw petroleum that it used, however when you look at the numbers its the greatest exporter of oil ever. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the US to just take some that they produce and keep it to sell to its own consumers.

In: Economics

Answer 1

“We” don’t particularly import a lot of oil. There are facilities in the US that are able to refine and process oil. Much of the import number is barrels that must land on our shores in order for these companies to process the oil. So, they’re imports on paper, not in practice.