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By Dorothy Neufeld | Graphics/Design: Joyce Ma
Global Crude Oil Trade Flows in 2024
Key Takeaways
- China imported 11.1 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, with Russia standing as its largest supplier of oil.
- Meanwhile, the U.S. imported 6.6 million barrels per day (mb/d), with Canada accounting for 62% of the total.
In 2024, global oil trade patterns continued to evolve, shaped by geopolitics and changing regional demand.
From Asia to the Middle East and the Americas, oil remains a cornerstone of the global economy. The vast scale of daily trade underscores not only the world’s reliance on energy but also intricate, global alliances.
This infographic shows the largest crude oil importers and exporters by daily volume, based on data from the Energy Institute.
China Leads in Global Oil Imports
Below, we show daily oil import and export volumes for major global players:
China remains the world’s top oil importer, bringing in 11.1 million barrels per day in 2024.
Despite efforts to diversify energy sources, China remains highly reliant on foreign oil, with Russia now its primary supplier. In 2024, China and India were the largest buyers of Russian crude oil, resulting in 81% of Russia’s oil imports.
Europe followed with 9.3 million barrels per day, reflecting its continued dependency on imports despite increased renewable adoption. While Europe has been cutting its imports of Russian oil given the war in Ukraine, it stood as the third-largest importer, at 12% of Russia’s exports.
As we can see, the U.S. was the third-largest importer with 6.6 million barrels per day—though this is counterbalanced by its strong export volume driven by record shale production in 2024.
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