Please note!

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 If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did the US increase Russian oil imports despite its ban on them?

Friday, April 8, 2022

By Lisa Freedland

Copy link

Copy featured image

YES

The U.S. increased imports of Russian oil in the latter weeks of March following President Biden's March 8, 2022, executive order banning Russian oil imports.

According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. imported 148,000 barrels of oil per day during the first full week of March. This number dropped to 38,000 barrels per day in the second week of March before rising to 70,000 barrels per day in the third week of March and 100,000 barrels of oil per day during the fourth week of March.

According to Reuters, the Biden administration permitted a 45-day wind-down period for Russian oil imports set to end April 22, 2022. During the first week of April, the EIA recorded zero barrels of oil imported from Russia.

On April 7, 2022, Congress overwhelmingly passed a bill to codify the Russian oil ban laid out by Biden in his executive order.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

White House FACT SHEET: United States Bans Imports of Russian Oil, Liquefied Natural Gas, and Coal

US Energy Information Administration Weekly U.S. Imports from Russia of Crude Oil (Thousand Barrels per Day)

Reuters U.S. fuel oil imports from Latin America jump ahead of Russia wind-down

Reuters U.S. Congress votes to strip Russia of 'most favored' trade status, ban its oil

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

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.

FACT BRIEF BY

Latest fact briefs

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.