US tops global gasoline exports in ’23

The United States is the world’s largest exporter of motor gasoline, supplying over 16 per cent of total global exports in 2023, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), and Facts Global Energy.

US gasoline exports averaged 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year, representing about 10 per cent of domestic consumption. This volume could fuel more than 1.5 million SUVs daily, assuming an average tank size of 24 gallons. In comparison, other major exporters such as Singapore and the Netherlands stayed below 700,000 bpd.

The US transitioned from being a net importer of gasoline from 1961 to 2015 to a leading exporter over the last decade. Expanded refinery capacity, including light crude oil processing units developed to handle growing output from hydraulic fracturing (fracking), drove this shift. Domestic gasoline consumption has remained steady since 2010, with 2023 levels about 0.4 million bpd lower than the 2018 peak, freeing up more gasoline for export.

Refined product exports, which reached record highs in 2022 and 2023, saw motor gasoline rank as the third-largest US export after propane and distillate fuel oil.

Mexico received over 500,000 bpd of these exports, while Central and South American countries received the remainder. Over 90 per cent of US gasoline exports in 2023 originated from the US Gulf Coast.

Attribution: EIA

Subediting: M. S. Salama