Taps Coogan – March 23rd, 2022

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The following chart, from Reddit user JC Eagle, shows the top oil import sources for the US since 1973.

As the graphic highlights, Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia had jockeyed for the top spot from 1973 and until the shale revolution started around 2011. Post 2011, US imports from Canada have inched up modestly while imports from Saudi Arabia and Mexico have dropped radically as overall US imports shrank. Whereas Saudi Arabia was often the largest or second largest oil import source for the US prior to the shale revolution, it was responsible for just 10% as much imported oil as Canada in 2021.

Notably, Russia has inched up to third on the list in recent years as its heavy crude had been a good fill-in for the heavy crude that US Gulf Coast refiners were geared for but unable to buy since sanctions were put on Venezuela and other sources dwindled. While the volumes are relatively small and thus not all that important (~3% of US oil consumption), with Venezuelan and Russian heavy crude now both banned in the US, Canadian Alberta crude could have been a perfect substitute… if only a certain famous pipeline wasn’t canceled last year… All of which is a reminder that canceling pipelines and/or banning drilling doesn’t actually reduce oil consumption, it just means you drill it somewhere worse and ship it from farther away.

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