From Oil Importer to Export Leader: US Tops Global Oil Shipments Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. June 11, 2026 © Coki / Adobe Stock The United States has become the world's largest oil exporter, upending a decades-old order long dominated by Saudi Arabia and Russia, a shift that tightens American companies' grip on energy markets as Washington's war with Iran reshapes global energy trade. America's ascendancy to the top spot marks a stunning reversal for a country that was dependent on Middle Eastern oil for decades and suffered from an oil embargo imposed by some OPEC members in 1973 to retaliate against U.S. support for Israel. U.S. fortunes began to change after 2010, when oil and gas output from its shale formations soared, first making it the world's top gas and then the world's top oil producer. With the U.S.-Iran war disrupting Saudi oil exports since February 2026 and Russian oil exports suffering from Ukrainian drone attacks and U.S. sanctions on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has become the world's leading oil exporter. U.S. exports of crude and fuel climbed to about 10.5 million barrels per day in May on the back of high output and the release of strategic reserves, data from ship tracking services Vortexa showed, making the U.S. the top global exporter for the third month in a row. Russian exports stood at 7 million bpd in May, according to Reuters' calculations, while Saudi Arabia's exports stood at 5.9 million bpd, according to Vortexa. In comparison, Saudi Arabia exported about 8.1 million bpd in 2025, while the United States shipped out 6.6 million bpd, and Russian exports stood at about 5.8 million bpd, according to Vortexa data. "Washington has a new tool they didn't realize they had before the Iran war — energy exports," said Michelle Brouhard, head of policy at ship tracking firm Kpler. The new U.S. dominance could weaken the pricing power that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have historically held o