U.S. crude oil exports decreased 3% in 2025 from 2024, the first annual decrease since 2021, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.
The U.S. exported 4.0 million barrels per day of crude oil, 85 times as much as in 2011, but slightly less than in 2023 and 2024, according to the EIA.
The EIA also noted U.S. exports decreased to Europe and the Asia and Oceania region, the two top regional destinations for U.S. crude oil. It added exports to Europe decreased by 7%, likely because increased output from OPEC replaced volumes from the U.S., while exports declined by 75% to Singapore and 89% to China.
The annual decrease in exports comes despite a 3% increase in crude oil production to a record 13.6 million bpd.
Since the early 2010s, U.S. exports of crude oil have increased sharply, driven by increasing U.S. production, expanding domestic infrastructure, increasing global demand for light, low-sulfur crude oils, and the removal of crude oil export restrictions in 2015, the EIA said.
Last year, however, more crude production went to U.S. stock builds, particularly the strategic petroleum reserve, and to domestic refineries, the release added.
U.S. net imports of crude oil decreased to 2.2 million bpd in 2025 from 2.5 million bpd in 2024, the EIA said.
Elsewhere, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran’s attacks on Gulf neighbors have disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East and forced production stoppages.
(Reporting by Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)