Last week, U.S. crude oil exports surged to near-record highs as buyers in Asia and Europe scrambled to secure alternative supplies, replacing disrupted Middle Eastern flows amid conflict involving Iran. This brought the United States close to becoming a net exporter of crude oil for the first time since World War II.

Tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran have triggered one of the largest disruptions in global energy markets. Threats to shipping by Iran have blocked approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Refiners in Asia and Europe, which rely heavily on these supplies, have turned to alternative sources, significantly boosting demand for oil from the United States, one of the world’s top producers.

However, analysts and traders warn that U.S. export capacity is rapidly approaching its limit.

According to U.S. government data released Wednesday, net crude imports—the difference between imports and exports—narrowed to just 66,000 barrels per day last week, the lowest weekly level since records began in 2001. At the same time, exports climbed to 5.2 million barrels per day, a seven-month high and close to the record of 5.6 million barrels per day set in 2023.

The data show that the last time the U.S. was a net exporter of crude oil was in 1943.

Jianwei Sha, Vice President of Oil Markets at Rystad Energy, noted that the rise in U.S. crude exports reflects expanding procurement by buyers in the Atlantic Basin and Asia, with regional price differentials helping to offset transportation costs.

In recent months, countries such as Greece have begun purchasing U.S. crude in significant volumes for the first time.

Data from ship-tracking service Kpler indicate that last week, approximately 2.4 million barrels per day, or about 47% of total U.S. crude exports, were shipped to Europe. Another 1.49 million barrels per day, or about 37%, went to Asia, up from 30% a year earlier.

Major buyers included the Netherlands, Japan, France, Germany, and South Korea.

Kpler also reported that a vessel carrying 500,000 barrels of crude signaled it was heading to Turkey, which would mark the first U.S. crude export to Turkey in at least a year.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude imports fell by more than 1 million barrels per day last week to 5.3 million barrels per day. The U.S. remains heavily dependent on imported crude because its refineries are primarily designed to process heavy, high-sulfur crude, unlike the light, sweet crude produced domestically.

Supply disruptions in the Middle East have widened the premium of Brent crude futures over U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, which surged to as much as $20.69 per barrel last month. This has reduced U.S. refiners’ appetite for imported crude while making American oil more attractive to European and Asian buyers.

According to LSEG data and traders, European spot crude prices hit a record high of nearly $150 per barrel on Monday, while African spot crude prices also reached new peaks.

Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, suggested that U.S. crude exports in April could reach around 5.2 million barrels per day, adding that exports are nearing capacity limits on a monthly basis.