U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Program

Fact #297: December 8, 2003
Imported Crude Oil: Where Does It Come From?

In 2002, the United States imported more than 9.1 million barrels of crude oil per day. The graph below shows from which countries the crude oil came. The countries supplying the United States with crude oil have changed over time, evidenced by the 1973 data on the graph. Many of the countries that the United States currently buys crude oil from did not supply any oil in 1973, such as Mexico, Iraq, the United Kingdom, and Norway.

U.S. Crude Oil Imports by Country of Origin, 1973 and 2002
Graph showing the barrels of oil per day that were imported to the U.S. from various countries in 1973 and 2002.

Supporting Information

U.S. Crude Oil Imports by Country of Origin, 1973 and 2002
  1973
(thousand barrels per day)		 2002
(thousand barrels per day)
Saudi Arabia 462 1,519
Mexico 1 1,500
Canada 1,001 1,445
Venezuela 344 1,201
Nigeria 448 589
Iraq 4 459
United Kingdom 0 405
Norway 0 348
Angola 49 321
Columbia 2 235
Kuwait 42 216
Gabon 0 143
Ecuador 47 100
Russia 0 85
Trinidad & Tobago 60 68
Brazil 0 58
Australia 0 51
Indonesia 200 50
Algeria 120 30
China 0 20
United Arab Emirates 71 10
Qatar 7 9
Malaysia 1 9
Libya 133 0

Source: Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review October 2003, Table 3.3.

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