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U.S. energy exports reach record high amid Iran war disruptions

Published: 26 Apr. 2026, 16:32

Drone view of oil tanker Helga berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, April 24. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The United States' energy exports briefly hit a record high after the Iran war disrupted Middle Eastern supply routes, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The surge was driven by a jump in demand from Asia and Europe for U.S. crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) after traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was choked off, cutting off a key route for Middle Eastern energy shipments. But energy experts said the shift was likely temporary because many Asian refineries are designed to process Middle Eastern crude more efficiently than U.S. oil.

Crude oil and petroleum product exports averaged 12.9 million barrels a day last week, the highest level on record, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The spike in U.S. energy imports was driven largely by Asia. U.S. crude and LNG exports to Asia in March and April were up about 30 percent from a year earlier, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing shipping data from Kpler.

The newspaper said the surge was so strong that the United States nearly became a net crude exporter this month for the first time in weekly government data going back to 2001.

Still, energy specialists drew a line under the trend, saying it reflected a war-driven disruption rather than a lasting shift, arguing that the situation is normalizing. Because many Asian refineries are optimized for Middle Eastern crude, processing U.S. oil can be less efficient.

“Oil and gas from the United States will no longer be as attractive [once the strait reopens],” Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Tokyo-based Sasakawa Peace Foundation, told The Wall Street Journal.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]