U.S. crude oil exports surge to record as tankers flock to Gulf Coast during Iran war

The US has been a net exporter of oil/gas since the Obama administration. It is not new that US-based oil companies earn money on foreign sales.

Correct me if I am wrong; however if we had a. Intelligent president who actually cared for the citizens. In a similar situation could we not declare a war time emergency and force oil companies to sell domestically cheaper

That's the definition of a commodity. The American lifestyle is built on oil being c****.

The U.S. simultaneously imports and exports oil primarily due to refinery configuration mismatches, geographic logistics, and specialized oil types. While the U.S. is a top global oil producer, its refineries are largely built to process heavy, sour crude from abroad, whereas much domestic production is light, sweet crude, which is exported to markets better suited to refine it. Here is why this paradox exists: 1. The Refinery Mismatch (Quality Difference) Domestic Output (Light/Sweet): U.S. shale production yields a lot of "light" and "sweet" crude, which contains less sulfur and smaller hydrocarbon chains. Refinery Capacity (Heavy/Sour): Many American refineries, particularly on the Gulf Coast, were built or upgraded to process "heavy" and "sour" crude (higher sulfur, heavier density) from Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East. The Result: It is more economical to export the light, sweet crude produced domestically and import the heavier oil that local refineries are designed to handle. 2. Geographic and Logistics Constraints Pipeline Shortages: It is often cheaper for a refinery in Philadelphia or California to import oil by tanker from overseas than it is to transport domestic oil from Texas by rail or truck. Regional Demand: Despite having vast reserves, California imports oil because it lacks enough pipeline capacity to bring in sufficient quantities of domestic oil from other states. 3. Product Exports vs. Crude Imports The U.S. is often a net exporter of total petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) but a net importer of crude oil. Refineries in the US are highly advanced and efficient, allowing them to import cheaper, heavy crude oil, process it, and export high-value finished products to other countries. 4. Corporate Trade The oil market is global and driven by private companies, not just national policy. These companies buy the specific grades of oil that make the most economic sense for their specific refinery technology and local demand. In the end, for a long time we have exported our light oil and imported heavy oil and we need to alter or build new refineries to process our light oil here at home efficiently rather then import from abroad.

From what I’ve seen US oil isnt very good for gasoline refining, most of our gas oil comes from canada and other countries

No regulations from the government means they can do what they want and this is why the lobbyists buy these fuckers

The call is coming from inside the (white) house.

He went to war on renewables before anything else. The windmills ahhhhh!

All the salt water with parts to build a desalinization plant, but on backorder until 2050.

mmm, fossilicious

yeah but it's Texas. There are no rules. Shit Houston doesn't even bother with basic zoning rules.

Oh boy, now they can sap the salt water, too!  That or convince the remaining residents to pee in cups to collect on a regular basis to supplement the water.

The war has been going on for nearly 70 days. If they made the call 2 weeks in to reroute tankers to Texas it makes sense they would be arriving now.

> our refineries aren't configured to process US and Canadian shale oils into fuels here US refineries focus on refining heavy crude oils, like the oil pumped in from Canada. The refineries would like to also get it from Venezuela. The US exports light crude oil.

That’s why we start by imprisoning all the oil tycoons. I’m sure if we dig through their finances enough, the vast majority of them have got plenty of felony charges we can give them. You don’t get to be someone like that without skeletons in your closet

Sit down and just take it huh? Yeah, glad I drive an EV WITH solar panels…

> You'd have to start by retooling all the refineries. No, they can process light crude just fine. You'd not make as much money since light crude usually costs a lot more per barrel as an input cost, and you would have a lot of stranded idled capital equipment doing not a whole lot. A refinery setup to refine heavy crude can process light crude with out retooling. The other way around is the difficult one. Logistics like pipeline capacity would be a much more difficult problem than refinery capacity.

Hey!!! They “might” get a good scratcher and join them for a couple of months

You’re missing the main fact that high oil prices are essentially an extra tax on consumers and businesses, and drives up the cost of production and of course transportation. This will cost much more economically than whatever you think is going back “to local economies” Just look up how much this has had an impact on farmers and fertilizer costs. Your fracking county will not be well off if we start to see food prices soar due to farmers being overwhelmed by the price of fertilizer.

seems like the president could institute some kinda "war time" policy to keep gas prices low and now be gouged .. of course that would limit the record profits from these oil companies, and thats not good

Oil is priced globally. Asia and Europe are desperate to buy oil, and will pay a high price for it. This changes the price for you, too. Export restrictions might stop oil companies from profit seeking off the increased demand, but it comes with a whole host of other problems.

That's just $$$ for the O&G companies. Most of the oil we drill we don't refine for domestic consumption.

We're not drilling all that much more is my understanding. I believe I've also.heard that over the last 10 years or so every extra drop of oil we drill baby drilled was sent overseas. I've heard this from an internet person that is an oil and gas expert but kinda take everything with a grain of salt so...

And rig counters were down by almost triple digits in 2025. They still aren’t up if any in 2026, as that takes time. 

No chance. Oil company execs are old school money and power. Nationalisation of state resources is a key part of how we ended up in the current mess. Suggest you look into Mossadegh’s fate after attempting to do so.

How the hell would nationalizing oil have helped in this situation?

If only we had some way to grab the stuff that makes products. Like seize it, and stuff. Ya know? 

Sounds like the current administration messed up on that.

So when America goes to 'War for Oil' you're saying that they're actually going to war for Businesses and not the American people? Or you know, raid an entire Country and arrest its President, and steal the oil. Where did that oil go?

Export controls would f*** over Europe and most of the developing world, but would solve the issue domestically

Here’s hoping export controls prevent this reality