TANKERS ARE CONVERGING AROUND THE GULF OF AMERICA Every red arrow in the image is a tanker. Because the Strait of Hormuz is closed, all empty vessels are coming to the Gulf of America to stock up on oil. Here's the impact on the US economy: The US just hit a record 12.7M barrels per day in combined crude oil and refined product exports. For context: The US has been a net importer of crude for 80 straight years. Here's what the numbers show: - Combined crude and refined exports: 12.7M bpd (record high) - Crude exports alone: 5.2M bpd (highest in 7 months) - Net crude imports: 66,000 bpd (record low in weekly data going back to 2001) To put that net import number in perspective, the US used to import millions of barrels a day more than it exported. Now it's down to thousands. The last time the US was a net crude exporter on an annual basis was 1943. It's now 66,000 bpd away from making history.