In 2022, energy trade between the United States and Mexico increased substantially from 2021 because high commodity prices drove up the value of the trade. Energy trade in 2022 between the United States and Mexico totaled $81.9 billion in real prices, an all-time high. Energy trade value is the combined value of energy imports and exports between two countries. Trade value is driven by both commodity prices and the commodity volumes imported and exported.
For the second year in a row, the value of U.S. energy exports to Mexico in real prices was a record annual high, reaching $55.8 billion in 2022, up from the previous high of $45.4 billion in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which began collecting this data in 1996.
Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics
Crude oil. The United States imported more crude oil from Mexico and paid more per barrel in 2022 compared with 2021. U.S. crude oil imports from Mexico averaged 536,000 barrels per day (b/d), a 9% increase from 2021. Global crude oil prices rose substantially in 2022. The Brent crude oil spot price averaged $103 per barrel (b) in 2022 compared with $77/b in 2021. With prices that much higher, the 9% volumetric increase corresponded to a 47% value increase in U.S. crude oil imports from Mexico last year compared with 2021. The $20.7 billion in crude oil imports from Mexico in 2022 is consistent with global oil price increases. The United States did not export any crude oil to Mexico in 2022.
Petroleum products. Mexico is the largest export market for U.S. petroleum producers; nearly 20% of all U.S. petroleum products were exported to Mexico in 2022. U.S. petroleum product exports to Mexico averaged 1.7 million b/d in 2022, a 33% increase from 2021. The value of U.S. petroleum product exports—the largest component of energy trade with Mexico on a value basis—increased by more than $10 billion to $44.2 billion in 2022 from $33.5 billion in 2021.
Natural gas. Natural gas trade is mostly pipeline shipments from the United States to Mexico. U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico were 5.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2022, which was 4% lower than the 2021 average. But because of higher prices, natural gas trade value in 2022 declined only 1.5% from 2021.
