For the first time in over 70 years, the United States exported more crude oil and petroleum than it imported.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released official data over Thanksgiving weekend reflecting a net surplus export of 89,0000 barrels of crude per day during the month of September. The U.S has been a net energy importer since recordkeeping on the matter began in 1949.
“This is a very big deal, not just rich in symbolism but marking a major and tangible benefit to the U.S. economy,” said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS Markit and author of “The Prize,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the oil industry. “It’s the end of an era that began with the oil crises of the 1970s.”