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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did only 3% of US oil imports come from Russia in 2021?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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In 2021, U.S. oil and petroleum-product imports from Russia rose 8%, spiking in the second half of the year after hurricanes along the Gulf Coast hampered domestic crude production. Imports totaled approximately 245 million barrels last year, compared to about 198 million barrels in 2020 and about 190 million barrels in 2019. Reuters reported that 30% of Russian imports were crude oil, with the remainder being refined products.

Russia was America's fourth-largest foreign source of oil in 2021 after Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Last year's sales were the highest since at least 1995—the furthest back U.S. Energy Information Administration data go.

President Biden has committed to releasing more than 90 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after banning Russian oil imports earlier this week in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
AP News Nations agree to release 60M barrels of oil amid Russian war
Reuters Factbox: US imports of Russian oil and refined products
US Energy Information Administration US total crude oil and products imports
US Energy Information Administration U.S. Imports from Russia of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products (Thousand Barrels)
Reuters Traders chase Russian oil to fill U.S. supply gap after Hurricane Ida
White House Fact sheet: United States bans imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.