U.S. petroleum exports surged to an all-time monthly record of 13.6 million barrels per day in April 2026, as disruptions to energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz pushed international buyers to redirect demand toward American supplies, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on July 8.
A record set on top of a record
Exports increased to 13.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in April, 15% more than the previous record set in March. Disruptions to international crude oil and refined product flows through the Strait of Hormuz increased global demand for U.S. exports.
Crude oil exports made up the largest share of total petroleum exports, averaging 5.6 million b/d in April, 21% more than the previous record set in December 2023.
Propane made up the second-largest share, with exports exceeding the 2.0 million b/d mark for the first time in monthly data, and distillate fuel oil made up the third-largest share, increasing to 1.6 million b/d, the most since July 2017.
Hormuz crisis redirects global oil flows
The surge in U.S. shipments is a direct consequence of a broader energy supply shock. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked by Iran since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched an air war against Iran. In retaliation, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued warnings forbidding passage through the strait, boarded and attacked merchant ships, and laid sea mines in the strait. On March 4, Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was “closed,” and threatened to attack any ship that attempted to pass it. As a result, insurance became unavailable or prohibitively expensive for vessels transiting the strait, and tanker traffic collapsed.
Gulf oil exports across all routes plunged by 15.8 million b/d month-on-month to 8.7 million b/d in March. Exports transiting the Strait averaged just 2.3 million b/d, about 10% of pre-war levels.
Before the war, an estimated 120, 140 vessels crossed through the strait each day, with approximately 20 million barrels per day of oil and gas products shipped through the waterway. In 2024, around 84% of the crude oil passing through the Strait went to Asia; nearly 70% of that oil went to China, India, Japan, and South Korea.
According to the EIA’s April 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain collectively shut in an estimated 7.5 million barrels per day of crude oil production in March, with shut-ins projected to rise to 9.1 million barrels per day in April. That supply shock sent buyers searching for alternatives, with American barrels filling a growing share of the gap.
Finished products and propane also climb
U.S. exports of finished petroleum products, which are mostly composed of distillate fuel oil, motor gasoline, jet fuel, and petroleum coke, reached their highest level since December 2024, despite relatively average exports of motor gasoline.
The EIA expects elevated propane inventory levels to support continued growth in U.S. propane exports in 2026 and 2027, as buyers in Asia replace lost supply from the Persian Gulf following the Strait of Hormuz closure.
The EIA’s more recent weekly estimates suggest crude oil, distillate fuel, jet fuel, and propane exports remained above five-year (2021, 2025) seasonal highs in May and June.
Wider significance for U.S. energy role
The United States remained the world’s largest crude oil producer in 2025, extending a streak that began in 2018 when the United States overtook Russia to become the world’s leading producer. The April export record underscores how that production base is now functioning as a swing supply source during one of the most severe disruptions to global energy flows in decades.
The conflict has caused the restriction of nearly all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to what the International Energy Agency characterized as the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”
Whether export volumes at or near April’s record level are sustained will depend heavily on the pace at which Strait of Hormuz shipping resumes and Middle Eastern producers bring shut-in output back online. The EIA’s Today in Energy brief noted that weekly data already shows some moderation from April’s peak, even as volumes remain historically elevated.
