Does the US buy oil from Russia? The United States has become Russia’s economic partner for many years. However, since the war between Russia and Ukraine began, the US has applied various economic sanctions to Russia, including stopping their oil and petroleum-related imports from Russia.
Russia is One of the World’s Largest Crude Oil Producers
With all the rich natural resources that it has, Russia has become one of the world’s largest crude oil producers. It is the third world’s largest oil producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia. Russia can produce around 12% of the global crude oil production, which is quite significant. Many countries have relied on Russia for their oil supplies, and the United States has also exported some crude oil products from Russia, although not in a sizable amount, which is around 3% of their total oil imports in 2021.
Russia can produce around 11 million barrels of oil per day, and out of the total produced, around 3,6 million barrels are getting consumed in Russia. So, the country has an oil surplus of around 7.6 million barrels per day, of which a large part of the surplus is getting exported to other countries, such as India, France, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. So far, India has become a significant buyer or importer of Russian crude oil, buying around 18% of the total crude oil exported from Russia.
The US Buys Petroleum Products from Russia
Aside from buying the crude oil products from Russia, which amount for around 3% of the total US oil imports in 2021, the US also buys petroleum products from Russia. In fact, the amount of petroleum products the US is buying from Russia is quite high, which covers around 20% of the total US petroleum product imports in 2021. The petroleum products imported by the US from Russia include the fuel oil and the unfinished oils.
However, around March 2022, president Biden banned the imports of petroleum and related products from Russia in response to the Ukraine-Russia war. This import ban has caused the rise of gas prices in the United States, which has reached the $5 per gallon price mark. With the continued war between Russia and Ukraine, the gas price might increase further, and it might also affect the prices of gasoline around the world.
The United States Oil Imports after Banning Oil Imports from Russia
President Joe Biden has announced the ban on the Russia oil imports for various petroleum-related products, meaning that the United States won’t be buying oil and petroleum-related products from Russia again as the war between Russia and Ukraine is escalating. Thus, what’s the United States’ next step to handle their own oil consumption needs after losing their oil supply from Russia?
The United States has been importing the crude oil products from Russia for many years, which amounted at only 3% for its total crude oil imports, so the Russia oil import ban will not have any significant impact on the US crude oil imports as of now. However, the US has also been importing petroleum-related products from Russia at around 20% of the total US petroleum imports, so the Russia oil import ban will have quite a significant impact for the United States, which will affect how they supply their overall petroleum needs in the country.
Now, the United States chooses the Middle Eastern oil producers to fulfill their lost oil supply from Russia after banning the Russia oil imports because of the Russia-Ukraine war. So, since the ban of Russia oil imports in March 2022, the US has allied with some Middle Eastern countries to provide them with their lost oil supply, which includes Kuwait and United Arab Emirates.
The Rising Oil Prices in the US
Since the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which has affected the economic relationship between the US and Russia, the increase in oil prices is something you can expect to happen in the United States. The Russia oil import ban also affects the overall oil prices in the United States, as the country needs to import the oil-related products from somewhere else, which might affect the distribution process of the oil products, causing the problems in the supply and demand ratio of oil-related products in the US.
The gasoline prices have been rising in the United States for some time since March 2022, and we might also see more price increases in various other products, as the increase of gas prices in the United States will also increase the expenses to distribute various products throughout the country, which will affect the retail prices of these products.
So, does the US buy oil from Russia? Yes, the United States was buying crude oil and petroleum-related products from Russia until 2021. However, in March 2022, the President of the United States announced the ban on oil imports from Russia, meaning that the US no longer imports or buys oil and other petroleum-related products from Russia since March 2022.
