There is no question that the US has remained an energy giant in production terms throughout its history, but its role as a giant energy consumer has outpaced even the capacity of its prodigious resource base to serve industry and consumer demand.

Roughly 14% of US crude oil comes from Saudi Arabia with substantial amounts also coming from Venezuela, Nigeria and Mexico – the largest single importer is Canada, which provides the US with close to a third of its crude oil supply.

Crude oil production is essential to the energy chain, but it doesn’t by itself do much. Oil needs to be refined and turned into a variety of products, and it is here that the US continues to punch above where its weight as a producer alone might imply. To find out more, check out the infographic that can be viewed with this post, and read more about refinery economics on Breaking Energy here.