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Mar 2, 2022 - Energy & Environment

Charting Russia's U.S. oil sales

Ben Geman
Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Lawmakers from both parties are pushing the White House to impose a ban on U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products from Russia, even as buyers are already steering clear of the country's crude.

Driving the news: Appeals or proposed bills are coming from lawmakers including Senate Energy Chairman Joe Manchin; a number of GOP lawmakers, and liberal Democratic Sen. Ed Markey.

Why it matters: Total U.S. oil and refined product imports have declined greatly since the mid-2000s as the shale boom began a surge in domestic production.

  • The U.S. remains, however, a significant importer, and Russia is among the largest suppliers.

Yes, but: Russian oil exports are taking a major hit even without new government limits, Reuters and others report as buyers "self-sanction."

  • "U.S. traders in the nation’s largest oil hubs have cautiously put imports from Russian companies on hold, even though the White House has said oil sales are not the target of sanctions," it reports.
  • It's not just the U.S., either. "Demand for Russian oil has collapsed as refineries, banks and shipowners shunned the country’s vast commodities market," the Financial Times reports.
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