U.S. petroleum exports reached a record in April as disruptions to international crude oil and refined product flows through the Strait of Hormuz increased global demand for U.S. supplies. Total exports climbed to 13.6 million barrels per day (b/d), 15 percent more than the previous record set in March.
The data, drawn from the EIA’s Today in Energy brief published July 8, which itself draws on the Petroleum Supply Monthly, June 2026, mark the highest monthly petroleum export figure the United States has ever recorded.
What drove the surge
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime chokepoint for world energy trade, 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. Beginning on March 4, 2026, Iranian forces formally declared the Strait “closed,” threatening and carrying out attacks on ships attempting to transit it. War-risk insurance premiums surged sharply, and all major carriers suspended transits, making the strait commercially unnavigable for most operators.
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.
Before the conflict, approximately 20 million barrels of oil were shipped through the Strait of Hormuz each day under normal circumstances. The strait is one of the world’s most important maritime routes, as it is the only route to the open sea for oil producers in the Gulf. With options to bypass it being limited, any disruption to flows carries enormous consequences for world oil markets.
Breakdown by product
Crude oil exports made up the largest share of total petroleum exports, averaging 5.6 million b/d in April, 21 percent more than the previous record set in December 2023. The scale of that single-category record illustrates how rapidly global buyers pivoted toward American barrels once Persian Gulf routes became effectively impassable.
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.
Exports of finished petroleum products, mostly composed of distillate fuel oil, motor gasoline, jet fuel, and petroleum coke, were the highest since December 2024, despite relatively average exports of motor gasoline.
Momentum carrying into May and June
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. 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.
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 April export surge arrives against a backdrop of record domestic production. The United States remained the world’s largest crude oil producer in 2025, a position it has held since 2018, when it surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia. U.S. crude oil production has been buoyed by continued gains in drilling productivity and operational efficiency across key shale basins, which allow operators to extract more oil per well.
Why the record matters
U.S. energy exports have surged to unprecedented levels in 2026, driven by global supply disruptions from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with Asia and Europe turning to U.S. supplies of crude, refined products, jet fuel, and natural gas to offset shortages from the region. The U.S. is capitalizing on its status as the world’s top energy producer, filling critical gaps and reinforcing its role as a major supplier amid geopolitical volatility.
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 International Energy Agency characterized the closure as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market, surpassing the 1973 OPEC embargo.
The record also sharpens attention on domestic storage dynamics, as higher outbound flows reduce the cushion of crude inventories at key inland hubs. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz increased following a June 2026 memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, and the EIA now expects worldwide crude oil production and trade flows to rebound to near pre-conflict levels by year’s end, with most previously shut-in production returning online by the first quarter of 2027. Whether export volumes at or near April’s record level are sustained will depend heavily on the pace at which Middle Eastern producers bring shut-in output back online.
