When crude oil was first discovered in the United States, it was taken from natural pools on the earth's surface and was used mainly for medicinal purposes. These natural pools supplied about 3 gallons of oil a day (per pool). As the population expanded and the need for the oil grew, and as whale oil, an alternative to crude oil, became scarce as a source for lighting, the need to produce more crude oil was addressed.

In Titusville, Pennsylvania, using the same technology as they used to drill for water, producers excavated the first successful oil well in 1859. As crude oil became ample, refineries sprang up to process it into useable petroleum products. The main product was kerosene, which began replacing whale oil as the prime source of illumination. Other main petroleum products refined out of a typical 42-gallon barrel (industry standard) were greases and lubricants. Today, there are many refined products, the major ones being motor gasoline, distillate fuel oil, and kerosene jet fuel. These major petroleum products heat homes and businesses and supply power to automobiles, transportation systems, and other industries.

In 2005, total U.S. demand for petroleum was 20.8 million barrels per day, of which 12.5 million barrels per day, or 60 percent, was from net imports (imports minus exports).

Imports nearly doubled between 1970 and 1973, the year of the Arab oil embargo, rising to nearly 6.3 million barrels per day, with crude oil accounting for more than half. Net imports averaged more than 6 million barrels per day. The growth in imports was due largely to economic growth, rising personal income, and greater numbers of automobiles all of which stimulated demand for oil, just as domestic crude oil production, which had peaked at 9.6 million barrels per day in 1970, began to decline.

Distillate fuel oil consists of diesel fuels and fuel oils. Diesel fuels furnish power to diesel engines, such as those used in heavy construction equipment, trucks, buses, tractors, trains, and some automobiles. No. 2 fuel oil is utilized in the central heating of homes and small buildings. Distillate fuel oil consumption for 2005 was 4.12 million barrels per day, the highest ever.

Residual fuel oil is heavier than distillate fuel oil; i.e., it has a higher density, viscosity, and boiling point. It is used mainly by electric utilities, large apartment and commercial buildings, and industries that maintain kilns, open-hearth furnaces, and steam boilers. Residual fuel use declined from 1977 to 1997, before rebounding in 2000 to 0.91 million barrels per day, a 70 percent decrease from the 1977 high of 3.1 million barrels per day. In 2005, residual fuel oil consumption averaged 0.92 million barrels per day. Conservation efforts and fuel-switching are the two main reasons cited for the drop in consumption.

In 2004, the three countries that consumed the most petroleum products were the United States (20.7 million barrels per day), China (6.4 million barrels per day), and Japan (5.4 million barrels per day).

More information on this subject can be found in the following EIA publications: Monthly Energy Review, Annual Energy Review, Petroleum Supply Annual, Volume 1, and International Energy Annual, International Petroleum Monthly.