2009 Crude Oil Imports From Persian Gulf Highlights:  Released on September 1, 2009
It should be noted that several factors influence the source of a company's crude oil imports. For example, a company like Motiva, which is partly owned by Saudi Refining Inc., would be expected to import a large percentage from the Persian Gulf, while Citgo Petroleum Corporation, which is owned by the Venezuelan state oil company, would not be expected to import a large percentage from the Persian Gulf, since most of their imports likely come from Venezuela. In addition, other factors that influence a specific company's sources of crude oil imports would include the characteristics of various crude oils as well as a company's economic needs. While, in general, crude oil is fungible, i.e., one crude oil can be substituted for another, many refineries are optimized by refining crude oil with specific qualities (e.g., the API gravity, the amount of sulfur in the crude oil, etc.). Also, depending on the global crude oil market condition at the time, the price difference between heavy and light crude oils varies, thus changing the economic dynamics for different refineries. Therefore, many factors determine the source of a company's crude oil imports.

Persian Gulf includes = Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.