According to new figures released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States reached new records in terms of primary energy production and exports in 2024. Of the record 103 quadrillion British thermal units produced in the U.S. last year, a record 31 quadrillion BTU (30 percent) went to other countries, with Mexico, Canada, Asia and Europe the main destinations of U.S. energy exports. As our chart illustrates, U.S. energy exports have risen steeply over the past two decade, as the fracking boom turned the U.S. from a major importer of energy into the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas and a net exporter.
The U.S. fracking boom began in the late 2000s and accelerated through the 2010s, driven by breakthroughs in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. These technologies allowed producers to extract oil and natural gas from shale formations once considered inaccessible, such as the Permian Basin, Bakken and Marcellus Shale.
Under the new trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union, the latter commits to purchasing $250 billion worth of oil, gas and nuclear energy products from the U.S. annually between 2026 and 2028 – a number that many experts deem unachievable. According to data from the UN Comtrade database, U.S. oil, gas and coal exports added up to around $200 billion last year, meaning that even shifting them all to the EU – which is impossible – wouldn’t be enough to reach the stated quota.
