The USA remained unchallenged as the world’s leading petroleum exporter last year, marking a sixth straight year at the top. However, its dominance may now have passed its peak, with No.2 Saudi Arabia narrowing the gap ever so slightly in 2025 and looking likely to close in further this year.
The story of the last decade has been one of rapidly expanding US oil production and exports, paused only for a brief period during the Covid-19 pandemic. But preliminary government data shows a slight fall in 2025, which would be the first such drop since 2001. Exports dipped from 10.71mn b/d to 10.67mn b/d, and with production growth forecast to slow in 2026, the era of gangbusters export growth may have come to an end. (CONTINUED - 1024 WORDS)
