China to Lead the World in Oil Imports; U.S. Petroleum Exports Booming

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the China is expected to surpass the United States in oil imports this October and to lead the world in total oil imports in 2014.(i) As the graph below shows, the United States, on a net basis (imports less exports), has decreased its net oil imports fairly dramatically over the last several years. There are several reasons for this decline. Most importantly, U.S. oil production is up. But, other reasons include increased exports of petroleum products, lower or flat liquid fuels demand, and biofuels production that has generally been increasing. China, unlike the United States, has a heavily growing demand for petroleum products and much lower production growth.