We get our oil from a mix of domestic production and imports, mostly from nearby countries like Canada and Mexico, plus smaller amounts from other regions such as the Middle East and South America.

Quick Scoop: Where Do “We” Get Our Oil From?

I’ll focus on the United States, since most online data about “where do we get our oil from” assumes the U.S.

  • The U.S. is currently the world’s largest crude oil producer, with big volumes coming from Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Alaska.
  • Even though it produces a lot, the U.S. also imports oil because its refineries are set up for different types (heavy, light, sour, sweet) that aren’t all produced domestically in the right places or quantities.

So “our” oil is really a blend of:

  • Oil pumped inside the country
  • Oil imported from foreign partners (mainly Canada and Mexico, plus others)

Main Places the U.S. Gets Its Oil

1. Domestic production

Most U.S. crude oil comes from a handful of key states.

  • Texas – the single biggest producer
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • Colorado and Alaska also contribute meaningful amounts

Because of this, a large share (around 60%) of crude run in U.S. refineries is produced at home.

2. Top foreign suppliers

Recent data and industry summaries show that most U.S. crude imports now come from North America , not the Middle East.

Here’s a simple snapshot:

[1][3][9][7] [3][10][1][7] [5][9][10][1] [9][10][1]

Source Role in U.S. oil supply
Canada Largest foreign supplier; provides the majority of U.S. crude imports, often around 4–5 million barrels per day.
Mexico Second-biggest nearby partner; part of the roughly 70% of imports that come from Canada + Mexico combined.
Saudi Arabia & other OPEC states Provide a smaller share than many people think; in recent years, OPEC overall has supplied roughly a tenth of total U.S. petroleum.
Other countries (e.g., Colombia, sometimes Russia in past years) Historically supplied modest shares that have shifted with sanctions, politics, and market changes.
In earlier years, Russia was a notable non‑OPEC supplier, but sanctions and policy changes have significantly cut that role.

Why We Import If We Produce So Much

Even though the U.S. produces a lot of oil, imports still matter.

Key reasons:

  1. Refinery fit
    • Refineries are engineered for specific crude types.
    • Some U.S. refineries are optimized for heavier or more sour crudes that are cheaper to import from places like Canada rather than overhaul the plants.
  1. Location and logistics
    • It can be easier or cheaper to ship certain crude grades from Canada or Mexico to specific coastal refineries than to pipe or ship U.S. crude from far inland.
  1. Trade flows
    • The U.S. both imports and exports petroleum products.
    • For example, it might export refined fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) to some countries while importing certain crude grades from others, depending on price and refinery setups.

In some recent years, total U.S. petroleum exports have even exceeded imports, meaning the country has acted as a net exporter overall.

“Where Do We Get Our Oil From” in a Global Sense

If you zoom out from just the U.S., global oil comes from a few major producing regions:

  • North America: United States, Canada, Mexico
  • Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Iran
  • Eurasia/Russia
  • Latin America: Brazil, Venezuela (capacity constrained), Colombia
  • Africa: Nigeria, Angola, Libya and others

The mix any one country uses depends on:

  • Its own oil reserves and production
  • Which refineries it has and what they’re built to run
  • Trade agreements, sanctions, and geopolitics
  • Market prices and shipping routes

So when you fill up a car in the U.S., that gasoline likely started as a combination of U.S. crude, Canadian barrels, and maybe smaller amounts from places like Mexico or Saudi Arabia, all blended through the global market.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.